Top of page

John Pletz [2007]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Vietnam War, 1961-1975
  • Branch of Service: Coast Guard
  • Location of Service: San Francisco, California; Eureka, California; Cape May, New Jersey; Groton, Connecticut; Da Nang, Vietnam
  • Highest Rank: Petty Officer Second Class
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/59934

View full service history

"If that bullet would have been three feet, five feet closer! Wouldn't be here." (video interview, 31:31)

Attracted by admittedly a romantic view of the Coast Guard, John Pletz chose to enlist in that service in 1965 when he was drafted by the Army. He discovered his personal limits during a survival training course but still decided he would volunteer for an assignment to Vietnam. There, he helped man a patrol boat which was on the lookout for civilian boats carrying contraband. His closest brush with armed fire came in the form of an artillery shell which shook him up and disabled the boat, while his boat was being repaired, Pletz took some R and R in Japan, where he adopted a "short-timer" mentality toward the war, questioning the eventual outcome of the U.S.military's actions.

Interview / Recording

About this Item

Title

  • John Vincent Pletz Collection

Names

  • Poincelot, Amanda
  • Veterans Heritage Project
  • Hatch, Barbara
  • Pletz, John Vincent

Home State

  • Arizona

Headings

  • -  Pletz, John Vincent
  • -  Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Coast Guard.

Form

  • DVD

Extent

  • 1 item

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • Vietnam War, 1961-1975

    • Branch of Service: Coast Guard
    • Location of Service: San Francisco, California; Eureka, California; Cape May, New Jersey; Groton, Connecticut; Da Nang, Vietnam
    • Highest Rank: Petty Officer Second Class
    • Dates of Service: 1965-1969
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2007-10-05; 2008-05-07)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/59934

Cite as

  • John Vincent Pletz Collection (AFC/2001/001/59934), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image
  • video

Additional Metadata Formats

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:

Poincelot, Amanda, Veterans Heritage Project, Barbara Hatch, and John Vincent Pletz. John Vincent Pletz Collection. 1965. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.59934/.

APA citation style:

Poincelot, A., Veterans Heritage Project, Hatch, B. & Pletz, J. V. (1965) John Vincent Pletz Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.59934/.

MLA citation style:

Poincelot, Amanda, et al. John Vincent Pletz Collection. 1965. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.59934/>.