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Robert Madison at time of his service, Italy

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: 370th Regimental Combat Team, 92nd Infantry Division
  • Location of Service: Washington, DC; Fort Meade, Maryland; Camp Croft, South Carolina; Fort Benning, Georgia; Fort Huachuca, Arizona; Gallicano, Italy
  • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/48858

View full service history

"We really believed sincerely that we were going to make our mark in this war and become able to claim our rights when we returned to the States." (Audio Interview, 14:24)

An architecture student at Howard University on December 7, 1941, Robert Madison was also a member of ROTC. That allowed him to serve in the Army as an officer, but his rank didn't shield him from experiencing discrimination; he and his fellow black officers were segregated from the white officers. One benefit of his serving in Italy was to further his education in architecture. He was wounded while driving a jeep in December 1944, and a subsequent bout with tonsillitis shortened his service in the field. Lacking the points to go home when the war ended, Madison pulled various Occupations duties until May 1946. Back home in Cleveland, he experienced outright prejudice when trying to further his education in architecture, but he persevered and eventually opened a minority-based firm, the first in Ohio.

Robert P. Madison Collection
Interview / Recording

About this Item

Title

  • Robert P. Madison Collection

Names

  • World War II - Korean War Roundtable
  • Donohue, Jerri R.
  • Madison, Robert P.

Home State

  • Ohio

Headings

  • -  Madison, Robert P.
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

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: 370th Regimental Combat Team, 92nd Infantry Division
    • Location of Service: Washington, DC; Fort Meade, Maryland; Camp Croft, South Carolina; Fort Benning, Georgia; Fort Huachuca, Arizona; Gallicano, Italy
    • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
    • Dates of Service: 1942-1946
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran received the Purple Heart for wounds received in action on 12/26/1944 in Gallicano, Italy.

Materials

  • Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2007-01-15)
  • Photograph: Copy photographic print [1 item] -- Portrait (collected 1945)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/48858

Cite as

  • Robert P. Madison Collection (AFC/2001/001/48858), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • audio
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

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:

World War Ii - Korean War Roundtable, Jerri R Donohue, and Robert P Madison. Robert P. Madison Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.48858/.

APA citation style:

World War Ii - Korean War Roundtable, Donohue, J. R. & Madison, R. P. (1942) Robert P. Madison Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.48858/.

MLA citation style:

World War Ii - Korean War Roundtable, Jerri R Donohue, and Robert P Madison. Robert P. Madison Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.48858/>.