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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Korean War, 1950-1953
  • Branch of Service: Air Force
  • Unit of Service: 3rd Air Rescue Squadron
  • Location of Service: Korea
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/20941

View full service history

"It saved many, many lives. We don't know how many, but we know it did save a lot of \\nlives, because if you can't get blood, you're going to die." (Audio Interview, 26:14)

Vance Funkhouser's aptitude for mechanical devices served him well in the Air Force during the Korean War. With helicopters being used for the first time to transport wounded to MASH units, there was a need for the critically wounded to receive blood plasma in transit. Because the litters were strapped outside the body of the aircraft, Funkhouser came up with a device that snapped on to the litters, giving injured GIs valuable in-flight treatment and earning him a Bronze Star. Funkhouser enjoyed the democratic camaraderie in his rescue squadron, where officers didn't pull rank on the enlisted men.

Vance D. Funkhouser Collection
Interview / Recording

Transcript

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About this Item

Title

  • Vance D. Funkhouser Collection

Names

  • Lugar, Richard
  • U.S. Senate/Richard Lugar
  • Funkhouser, Vance D.
  • Wood, Rebecca

Home State

  • Indiana

Headings

  • -  Funkhouser, Vance D.
  • -  Korean War, 1950-1953 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Air Force.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • Korean War, 1950-1953

    • Branch of Service: Air Force
    • Unit of Service: 3rd Air Rescue Squadron
    • Location of Service: Korea
    • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
    • Dates of Service: 1950-1954
    • Military Status: veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran invented a device that allows plasma to be given on the battlefield or in the air.

Materials

  • Audio: CD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 2009-08-20; 2009-08-20)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 2010)
  • Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 1931-04-01)
  • Manuscript: Military papers (orders, personnel/201 files, etc) [2 items] -- Typewritten document (collected 1954)
  • Photograph: Copy photographic print [2 items] -- Photograph (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Periodicals [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 2002-05)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/20941

Cite as

  • Vance D. Funkhouser Collection (AFC/2001/001/20941), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • audio
  • online text
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Wars & Conflicts

Service Branch

Location of Service

Service Unit

Highest Rank

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:

Lugar, Richard, U.S. Senate/Richard Lugar, Vance D Funkhouser, and Rebecca Wood. Vance D. Funkhouser Collection. 1950. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.20941/.

APA citation style:

Lugar, R., U.S. Senate/Richard Lugar, Funkhouser, V. D. & Wood, R. (1950) Vance D. Funkhouser Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.20941/.

MLA citation style:

Lugar, Richard, et al. Vance D. Funkhouser Collection. 1950. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.20941/>.