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Carl Beck during interview

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945; Korean War, 1950-1953
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: H Company, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division
  • Location of Service: United States; Europe; Saudi Arabia; Iran; United States; France; Holland; Belgium; Germany
  • Highest Rank: Master Sergeant
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/1985

View full service history

"You should get a 20-minute red light to stand up and get your equipment. We didn't get anything but a bell." (Interview)

When his plane was diverted by anti-aircraft fire in the early morning darkness of June 6, paratrooper Carl Beck found himself 12 miles from his original drop zone in Normandy. After several days of playing hide and seek with German troops, Beck found some friendly French peasants, who reunited him with American troops. His second drop, into Holland in September, proved more successful.

Interview / Recording

Transcript

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Interview / Recording

Transcript

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About this Item

Title

  • Carl D. Beck Collection

Names

  • Fromm, Annette B.
  • Beck, Carl D.
  • Hansen, Gregory

Home State

  • Georgia

Headings

  • -  Beck, Carl D.
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.
  • -  Korean War, 1950-1953 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Race

  • White

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: H Company, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division
    • Location of Service: United States; France; Holland; Belgium; Germany
    • Highest Rank: Master Sergeant
    • Dates of Service: 1942-1963
    • Military Status: veteran
    • Service History Note: During World War II, veteran served on D-Day (1944); was located in Holland (9/17/1944); was in the Belgium Ardennes during the Battle for Bastogne (1944-1945); and was located in Central Germany (1945). Veteran sustained combat/service-related injuries, but it is not clear from which war.
  • Korean War, 1950-1953

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Location of Service: United States; Europe; Saudi Arabia; Iran
    • Highest Rank: Master Sergeant
    • Dates of Service: 1942-1963
    • Military Status: veteran
    • Service History Note: Beck indicates that he served during the Korean War, but not in Korea. Veteran sustained combat/service-related injuries, but it is not clear from which war.

Materials

  • Video: Digital Betacam [1 item] -- Digitized Copy (collected unknown)
  • Video: Digital Betacam [1 item] -- Digitized Copy (collected unknown)
  • Audio: CD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2002-07-11; 1994-12-31)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of video recording (collected unknown)
  • Video: MiniDV [2 items] -- Oral history interview (collected 2002-07-11)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/1985

Cite as

  • Carl D. Beck Collection (AFC/2001/001/1985), 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:

Fromm, Annette B, Carl D Beck, and Gregory Hansen. Carl D. Beck Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.01985/.

APA citation style:

Fromm, A. B., Beck, C. D. & Hansen, G. (1942) Carl D. Beck Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.01985/.

MLA citation style:

Fromm, Annette B, Carl D Beck, and Gregory Hansen. Carl D. Beck Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.01985/>.