Top of page

Edwin Nixon [2007]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Korean War, 1950-1953
  • Branch of Service: Navy
  • Unit of Service: VF-91 (Fighter Squadron); USS Philippine Sea (CV 47)
  • Location of Service: United States; Japan; Korea
  • Highest Rank: Lieutenant
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/51484

View full service history

"You learn pretty quickly this is a dangerous thing, but you always think it's going to be someone else and not you." (Video Interview, 9:30)

When Edwin Nixon enlisted in the Navy out of college just after the Korean War started, he thought it would be over by the time he finished training. He became a Navy pilot and flew his first mission over Korea in January 1953. On his 25th mission, he took crippling fire intended for another plane. He managed to crash land his craft, breaking his back in the process. For four months, he was interrogated and kept in isolation, then spent time in a camp with other POWs. Meanwhile, he was declared killed in action, with a funeral held for him. (A later arriving POW told Nixon he attended it.) The day he was repatriated, his wife had a baby daughter. Nixon has some harsh words for the way the war was prosecuted, but he knows that his unique experiences made him a more confident person in his professional career.

Interview / Recording

More Resources

Interview / Recording

About this Item

Title

  • Edwin Allen Nixon, Jr. Collection

Names

  • Nixon Jr., Edwin Allen
  • Inventive Productions
  • McHatton, R. J.

Home State

  • Washington (State)

Headings

  • -  Nixon Jr., Edwin Allen
  • -  Korean War, 1950-1953 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Navy.
  • -  Prisoner of War -- United States

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: Navy
    • Unit of Service: VF-91 (Fighter Squadron); USS Philippine Sea (CV 47)
    • Location of Service: United States; Japan; Korea
    • Highest Rank: Lieutenant
    • Dates of Service: 1950-1954
    • Prisoner of War: Yes
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Manuscript: Memoirs [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 2007)
  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2007-03-26; 2006-01-01)
  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2007-03-26; 2006-01-01)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/51484

Cite as

  • Edwin Allen Nixon, Jr. Collection (AFC/2001/001/51484), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image
  • video

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Wars & Conflicts

Service Branch

Location of Service

Service Unit

Prisoner of War

Highest Rank

Service Entrance

Discharge Status

Gender

Race

Home State

Interviewee

Interviewer

Organization/Affiliation

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:

Nixon Jr., Edwin Allen, Inventive Productions, and R. J McHatton. Edwin Allen Nixon, Jr. Collection. 1950. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.51484/.

APA citation style:

Nixon Jr, E. A., Inventive Productions & McHatton, R. J. (1950) Edwin Allen Nixon, Jr. Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.51484/.

MLA citation style:

Nixon Jr., Edwin Allen, Inventive Productions, and R. J McHatton. Edwin Allen Nixon, Jr. Collection. 1950. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.51484/>.