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Staff Sergeant Kenneth Bentz

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Korean War, 1950-1953
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: Adjutant General's Section, Headquarters Company, 7th Infantry Division
  • Location of Service: Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri; Chip'yong-ni and Chunchon, Republic of Korea; Fort Custer, Michigan
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/54496

View full service history

"I can't believe how lucky I was… If I had been sent to the front I probably would have killed myself, you know, shoot myself in the foot or drop a grenade on me." (Video Interview, 29:49)

For someone who modestly admits he did "nothing special" while serving in Korea, Kenneth Bentz offers an informative and entertaining look at the life of an Army clerk in wartime. Drafted six months after the start of the war, Bentz did not ship out with the men he had trained with and went over on his own. His voyage took so long that there were letters waiting for him when he arrived in country. His three sisters were good to him, sending him everything from cookies to a camera to a cot. He was stationed for time in Chip Yong Ni, where one of the big battles of the war had already been fought and where he contracted malaria. He typed, did personnel work, and occasionally pulled guard duty, thankful he wasn't carrying a weapon out in the field. His tour of duty was extended by one week: He agreed to interview outgoing GIs in Japan for a ticket on an airplane back instead of passage on a ship.

Interview / Recording

About this Item

Title

  • Kenneth Bentz Collection

Names

  • Christiansen, Barbara J.
  • Bentz, Kenneth
  • Christiansen, Barbara
  • Elk Grove Village Public Library

Home State

  • Illinois

Headings

  • -  Bentz, Kenneth
  • -  Korean War, 1950-1953 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

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: Army
    • Unit of Service: Adjutant General's Section, Headquarters Company, 7th Infantry Division
    • Location of Service: Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri; Chip'yong-ni and Chunchon, Republic of Korea; Fort Custer, Michigan
    • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
    • Dates of Service: 1950-1952
    • Entrance into Service: Drafted
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2008-01-10; 2008-01-08)
  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2008-01-10; 2008-01-08)
  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2008-01-10; 2008-01-08)
  • Manuscript: Memoirs [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 2003-05)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/54496

Cite as

  • Kenneth Bentz Collection (AFC/2001/001/54496), 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:

Christiansen, Barbara J, Kenneth Bentz, Barbara Christiansen, and Elk Grove Village Public Library. Kenneth Bentz Collection. 1950. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.54496/.

APA citation style:

Christiansen, B. J., Bentz, K., Christiansen, B. & Elk Grove Village Public Library. (1950) Kenneth Bentz Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.54496/.

MLA citation style:

Christiansen, Barbara J, et al. Kenneth Bentz Collection. 1950. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.54496/>.