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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Vietnam War, 1961-1975
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: 501st Field Depot
  • Location of Service: Fort Knox, Kentucky; Thailand
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/43224

View full service history

"The military chaplain system was my first exposure to ecumenicity. And that has been a valuable experience for me." (Audio Interview, 58:12)

Chaplain's Assistant Kenneth Martin, who served in the Vietnam War, carried a secret during his time in the Army. He had realized at an early age that he was gay, but he stayed in the closet after being drafted in 1966. Stationed in Thailand, Martin was grateful to have a boss who showed compassion to men who had been outed and were being discharged. He had one dramatic encounter counseling a soldier on leave; he told Martin he was grieving for a fellow soldier, also his lover, who had been killed just before they were to come to Thailand. Being exposed to religions outside his Southern Baptist upbringing, including Buddhism, gave Martin new perspectives. After leaving the Army and graduating from a seminary back in the States, he came out, much to the dismay of his father, siblings, and his wife. He never reconciled with his father, but he did re-establish communications with his brothers and his ex-wife, who with her second husband were members of Martin's congregation at the time of the interview.

Kenneth T. Martin Collection
Interview / Recording

Transcript

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About this Item

Title

  • Kenneth T. Martin Collection

Names

  • American Veterans for Equal Rights (AVER)
  • Estes, Steve
  • Martin, Kenneth T.
  • Ballard, Lara

Home State

  • Texas

Headings

  • -  Martin, Kenneth T.
  • -  Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • Vietnam War, 1961-1975

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: 501st Field Depot
    • Location of Service: Fort Knox, Kentucky; Thailand
    • Dates of Service: 1967-1968
    • Entrance into Service: Drafted
    • Military Status: veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran served as a Chaplain's Assistant.

Materials

  • Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2004-07-12)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 2004-07-12)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/43224

Cite as

  • Kenneth T. Martin Collection (AFC/2001/001/43224), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • audio
  • online text

Additional Metadata Formats

Wars & Conflicts

Service Branch

Location of Service

Service Unit

Highest Rank

Service Entrance

Discharge Status

Gender

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:

American Veterans For Equal Rights, Steve Estes, Kenneth T Martin, and Lara Ballard. Kenneth T. Martin Collection. 1967. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.43224/.

APA citation style:

American Veterans For Equal Rights, Estes, S., Martin, K. T. & Ballard, L. (1967) Kenneth T. Martin Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.43224/.

MLA citation style:

American Veterans For Equal Rights, et al. Kenneth T. Martin Collection. 1967. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.43224/>.