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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Marine Corps
  • Unit of Service: C Company, 1st Marine Raider Battalion, 1st Marine Division
  • Location of Service: Quantico, Virginia; Cherry Point, North Carolina; Cuba; California; Guadalcanal (Solomon Islands); Pacific Theater
  • Highest Rank: Major
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/50888

View full service history

About this Item

Title

  • Kenneth Dillon Bailey Collection

Names

  • Bailey, Kenneth Dillon
  • Payne, William H.
  • American Legion, Lamouree-Hackett Post 72

Home State

  • Illinois

Headings

  • -  Bailey, Kenneth Dillon
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Marine Corps.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Race

  • White

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Marine Corps
    • Unit of Service: C Company, 1st Marine Raider Battalion, 1st Marine Division
    • Location of Service: Quantico, Virginia; Cherry Point, North Carolina; Cuba; California; Guadalcanal (Solomon Islands); Pacific Theater
    • Highest Rank: Major
    • Dates of Service: 1935-1942
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran earned the Medal of Honor for heroic conduct during action during the battle of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. He was assigned to the USS Pennsylvania (BB 38). He was commander of Company C and he was killed in action (KIA) on Guadalcanal (Solomon Islands) 09/27/1942. The destroyer, USS Kenneth D. Bailey (DD 713), was named in his honor. The Medal of Honor citations reads: For extraordinary courage and heroic conduct above and beyond the call of duty as Commanding Officer of Company C, First Marine Raider Battalion, during the enemy Japanese attack on Henderson Field, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, on September 12-13, 1942. Completely reorganized following the severe engagement of the night before, Major Bailey's company, within an hour after taking its assigned position as battalion reserve between the main line and the coveted airport, was threatened on the right flank by the penetration of the enemy into a gap in the main line. In addition to repulsing this threat, while steadily improving his own desperately held position, he used every weapon at his command to cover the forced withdrawal of the main line before a hammering assault by superior enemy forces. After rendering invaluable service to the Battalion Commander in stemming the retreat, reorganizing the troops and extending the reserve position to the left, Major Bailey, despite a severe head wound, repeatedly led his troops in fierce hand to hand combat for a period of ten hours. His great personal valor while exposed to constant and merciless enemy fire, and his indomitable fighting spirit inspired his troops to heights of heroic endeavor which enabled them to repulse the enemy and hold Henderson Field. He gallantly gave his life in the service of his country.

Materials

  • Video: Digital File [ item] -- (collected unknown)
  • Video: VHS [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2007-06-17)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/50888

Cite as

  • Kenneth Dillon Bailey Collection (AFC/2001/001/50888), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

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:

Bailey, Kenneth Dillon, William H Payne, and Lamouree-Hackett Post 72 American Legion. Kenneth Dillon Bailey Collection. 1935.

APA citation style:

Bailey, K. D., Payne, W. H. & American Legion, L. P. 7. (1935) Kenneth Dillon Bailey Collection.

MLA citation style:

Bailey, Kenneth Dillon, William H Payne, and Lamouree-Hackett Post 72 American Legion. Kenneth Dillon Bailey Collection. 1935.