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Ronald Dzierzynski [detail from video]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Vietnam War, 1961-1975
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: Military Intelligence
  • Location of Service: Fort Dix, New Jersey; Fort Benning, Georgia; Fort Bliss, Texas; Fort Holabird, Maryland; Vietnam
  • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/91320

View full service history

"It really was good hearing from you again. Thanks for the letters. I'm in a lousy stage, not just arrived and not yet ready to come home and letters really help." (Letter to his family, 1/1969)

Writing to his family first from his stateside training and then from Vietnam, First Lieutenant Ronald Dzierzynski's letters home narrate his experiences as a young military intelligence officer trying hard to do his best--no matter the circumstances--and make his parents proud. While in country, he served as a Provincial Area Intelligence Representative, or PAIR, working to coordinate and train local intelligence agents. His correspondence with his family helped to see him through the highs and lows of his time in Vietnam. As he said in his oral history interview, "You lived for that day when you get the mail. Somebody said you've got mail, and it was like, it made your day. Somebody remembered you."

Interview / Recording

More Resources

[ Letter to his parents from Ronald Dzierzynski [10/13/1966] ]
[ Letter to Lois from Ronald Dzierzynski [10/16/1966] ]
[ Letter to his parents from Ronald Dzierzynski [10/25/1966] ]
[ Letter to his parents from Ronald Dzierzynski [11/20/1966] ]
[ Letter to his sister from Ronald Dzierzynski [11/21/1966] ]

Show more resources (49)

[ Letter to his parents from Ronald Dzierzynski [2/2/1967] ]
[ Letter to his parents from Ronald Dzierzynski [3/14/1967] ]
[ Letter to his parents from Ronald Dzierzynski [2/19/1967] ]
[ Letter to his parents from Ronald Dzierzynski [3/1967] ]
[ Handwritten Memo to Tactical Officer, 2nd Platoon, 85th Co., Re: "Why I can't control my squad and why I show poor judgement [sic.]" [3/25/1967] ]
[ Letter to his mother, from Ronald Dzierzynski [4/1/1967] ]
[ Letter to his parents from Ronald Dzierzynski [5/16/1967] ]
[ Letter to his parents from Ronald Dzierzynski [5/29/1967] ]
[ Letter to his parents from Ronald Dzierzynski [6/19/1967] ]
[ Letter to his parents from Ronald Dzierzynski [1967] ]
[ Letter to his family from Ronald Dzierzynski [1967] ]
[ Letter to his parents from Ronald Dzierzynski [1968] ]
[ Letter to his family from Ronald Dzierzynski [2/26/1968] ]
[ Letter to his family from Ronald Dzierzynski [5/1968] ]
[ Letter to his family from Ronald Dzierzynski [5/1968] ]
[ Letter to his parents from Ronald Dzierzynski [6/1968] ]
[ Letter to his parents from Ronald Dzierzynski [6/30/1968] ]
[ Letter to his family from Ronald Dzierzynski [7/16/1968] ]
[ Letter to his family from Ronald Dzierzynski [8/2/1968] ]
[ Letter to his family from Ronald Dzierzynski [8/7/1968] ]
[ Letter to his parents from Ronald Dzierzynski [8/14/1968] ]
[ Letter to his parents from Ronald Dzierzynski [8/22/1968] ]
[ Letter to his family from Ronald Dzierzynski [9/30/1968] ]
[ Letter to his parents from Ronald Dzierzynski [10/08/1968] ]
[ Letter to his family from Ronald Dzierzynski [10/11/1968] ]
[ Letter to his parents from Ronald Dzierzynski [10/18/1968] ]
[ Letter to his parents from Ronald Dzierzynski [10/31/1968] ]
[ Letter to his parents from Ronald Dzierzynski [11/11/1968] ]
[ Letter to his sister, Lois, from from Ronald Dzierzynski [12/5/1968] ]
[ Letter to his parents from Ronald Dzierzynski [12/5/1968] ]
[ Letter to his parents from Ronald Dzierzynski [12/1968] ]
[ Letter to his parents from Ronald Dzierzynski [12/1968] ]
[ Letter to his parents from Ronald Dzierzynski [12/26/1968] ]
[ Letter to Lois and Ed from Ronald Dzierzynski [12/1968] ]
[ Letter to his family from Ronald Dzierzynski [12/17/1968] ]
[ Letter to his mother from Ronald Dzierzynski [1/15/1969] ]
[ Letter to his family from Ronald Dzierzynski [1/1969] ]
[ Letter to his family from Ronald Dzierzynski [5/30/1969] ]
[ Letter to his family from Ronald Dzierzynski [4/1/1969] ]
[ Letter to his Dad from Ronald Dzierzynski [1969] ]
[ Letter to his parents from Ronald Dzierzynski [1969] ]
[ Letter to his parents from Ronald Dzierzynski [5/19/1969] ]
[ Letter to his family from Ronald Dzierzynski [4/18/1969] ]
[ Letter to his parents from Ronald Dzierzynski [4/30/1969] ]
[ Letter to his parents from Ronald Dzierzynski [3/16/1969] ]
[ Letter to his family from Ronald Dzierzynski [3/7/1969] ]
[ Letter to his family from Ronald Dzierzynski [3/26/1969] ]
[ Letter to his Dad from Ronald Dzierzynski [1/20/1969] ]
[ Letter to his family from Ronald Dzierzynski [1/31/1969] ]

About this Item

Title

  • Ronald E. Dzierzynski Collection

Names

  • Dzierzynski, Ronald E.
  • American Red Cross, Greater Long Beach Chapter
  • Farrar, Mike
  • Wong, Janice

Home State

  • California

Headings

  • -  Dzierzynski, Ronald E.
  • -  Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Race

  • White

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • Vietnam War, 1961-1975

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: Military Intelligence
    • Location of Service: Fort Dix, New Jersey; Fort Benning, Georgia; Fort Bliss, Texas; Fort Holabird, Maryland; Vietnam
    • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
    • Dates of Service: 1966-1969
    • Entrance into Service: Commissioned
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2013-07-18; 2013-07-18)
  • Manuscript: Correspondence [55 items] -- Handwritten document (collected 1966-1969)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/91320

Cite as

  • Ronald E. Dzierzynski Collection (AFC/2001/001/91320), 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:

Dzierzynski, Ronald E, Greater Long Beach Chapter American Red Cross, Mike Farrar, and Janice Wong. Ronald E. Dzierzynski Collection. 1966. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.91320/.

APA citation style:

Dzierzynski, R. E., American Red Cross, G. L. B. C., Farrar, M. & Wong, J. (1966) Ronald E. Dzierzynski Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.91320/.

MLA citation style:

Dzierzynski, Ronald E, et al. Ronald E. Dzierzynski Collection. 1966. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.91320/>.