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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: Company B, 365th Infantry Regiment, 92nd Infantry Division
  • Location of Service: Italy; Germany; European Theater
  • Highest Rank: Technician Five
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/9170

View full service history

"No Germans ever treated me harshly. They didn't even treat me with disrespect." (1993 interview, Part 1, 1:30:08)

Isham Benton had plans to be a doctor but his studies were interrupted when he was drafted in 1942. At Camp Wheeler, Georgia, he studied hard to be admitted to Officer Candidate School, but racial quotas blocked his way. Assigned to take courses at West Virginia State and Indiana University, he was again thwarted with a transfer to the infantry as a rifleman. He did enjoy the climate at Ft. Huachuca and the absence of the racial tension he felt in Georgia. When his unit shipped out to Italy, a racist officer would not let them disembark in Naples, announcing there were no black women ashore. A point man on patrol, Benton was captured by German troops in January 1945. He was treated more kindly by his captors than he had by many of his white officers, though he suspected at times the enemy was trying to win his affections.

Isham George Benton Collection
Interview / Recording

More Resources

Isham George Benton Collection
Additional Interview conducted 11/15/93

About this Item

Title

  • Isham George Benton Collection

Names

  • Lugar, Richard
  • Clanin, Douglas
  • Benton, Isham George
  • U.S. Senate/Richard Lugar

Home State

  • Indiana

Headings

  • -  Benton, Isham George
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.
  • -  Prisoner of War -- United States

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Race

  • Black or African American

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: Company B, 365th Infantry Regiment, 92nd Infantry Division
    • Location of Service: Italy; Germany; European Theater
    • Highest Rank: Technician Five
    • Dates of Service: 1942-1945
    • Prisoner of War: Yes
    • Entrance into Service: Drafted
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Photograph: Photocopy of Photographic Print [1 item] -- (collected 1945-09-27)
  • Audio: Audio Cassette [2 items] -- Oral history interview (collected 1993-11-15)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/9170

Cite as

  • Isham George Benton Collection (AFC/2001/001/9170), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • audio

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:

Lugar, Richard, Douglas Clanin, Isham George Benton, and U.S. Senate/Richard Lugar. Isham George Benton Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.09170/.

APA citation style:

Lugar, R., Clanin, D., Benton, I. G. & U.S. Senate/Richard Lugar. (1942) Isham George Benton Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.09170/.

MLA citation style:

Lugar, Richard, et al. Isham George Benton Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.09170/>.