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Raymond Metcalf at time of interview

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Korean War, 1950-1953
  • Branch of Service: Navy
  • Unit of Service: USS Philippine Sea (CVA 47); Task Force 77
  • Location of Service: San Diego, California; Philippines
  • Highest Rank: Aviation Photographer's Mate Third Class
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/69684

View full service history

"If you're going to light a bomb, a time bomb for war or combat, then you better be able to find a way to defuse that bomb when you get it out of that, and they never have." (video interview 1:17:13)

At the age of 17, fresh out of boot camp, Raymond Metcalf talked his way into a job as a Navy photographer, claiming he needed to learn the family business. During the Korean War, he traveled between combat units to collect images of Navy planes in action, surviving bombings and sniper fire, all while armed with nothing but his camera. When he returned home, he experienced nightmares and suffered from depression; and though he eventually found help through the VA, in his VHP interview he says "I wish I would have found it 50 years...56 years ago."

Interview / Recording

Transcript

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About this Item

Title

  • Raymond Eldred Metcalf Collection

Names

  • VA Medical Center, San Diego, California
  • Metcalf, Raymond Eldred
  • Cox, Carl Raymond

Home State

  • California

Headings

  • -  Metcalf, Raymond Eldred
  • -  Korean War, 1950-1953 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Navy.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • Korean War, 1950-1953

    • Branch of Service: Navy
    • Unit of Service: USS Philippine Sea (CVA 47); Task Force 77
    • Location of Service: San Diego, California; Philippines
    • Highest Rank: Aviation Photographer's Mate Third Class
    • Dates of Service: 1950-1953
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2009-08-12; 2009-11-12)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of video recording (collected 2009-08-12)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/69684

Cite as

  • Raymond Eldred Metcalf Collection (AFC/2001/001/69684), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image
  • online text
  • 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:

Va Medical Center, San Diego, California, Raymond Eldred Metcalf, and Carl Raymond Cox. Raymond Eldred Metcalf Collection. 1950. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.69684/.

APA citation style:

Va Medical Center, S. D., Metcalf, R. E. & Cox, C. R. (1950) Raymond Eldred Metcalf Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.69684/.

MLA citation style:

Va Medical Center, San Diego, California, Raymond Eldred Metcalf, and Carl Raymond Cox. Raymond Eldred Metcalf Collection. 1950. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.69684/>.