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Vern Peters [detail from video]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945; Korean War, 1950-1953
  • Branch of Service: Coast Guard
  • Unit of Service: USS Tacoma (PF 3)
  • Location of Service: Atlantic Ocean; Leyte Gulf (Philippines); Luzon (Philippines); Aleutian Islands; European Theater; Pacific Theater
  • Highest Rank: Machinist's Mate Third Class
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/60697

View full service history

"That's the first thing that everybody wanted was mail from home. If we were at sea, the \\nradioman, he would find out what ship was carrying the mail, and, boy, they'd just \\nsurround it, send a small boat over there, and pick up the mail, bring it back, and then \\neverything stood still." (Video Interview, 35:42)

Vern Peters chose to enlist in the Coast Guard because of an especially persuasive recruiting poster depicting a bare-chested seaman loading a shell into the breech. Peters completed basic training at Government Island, Alameda, California, where many of his fellow recruits were movie stars. As a Machinist's Mate Third Class aboard the USS Tacoma, Peters tended to one of the ship's engines and manned the 20mm gun as his ship sailed in convoys over the Atlantic and Pacific, delivering supplies and escorting other ships.

Interview / Recording

About this Item

Title

  • Vern Peters, Jr. Collection

Names

  • Peters Jr., Vern
  • VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Sepulveda Ambulatory Care Center & Nursing Home, Sepulveda, California
  • James, Becky
  • Davis, Vance
  • Pete Polini

Home State

  • California

Headings

  • -  Peters Jr., Vern
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Coast Guard.
  • -  Korean War, 1950-1953 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Coast Guard.

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: Coast Guard
    • Unit of Service: USS Tacoma (PF 3)
    • Location of Service: Atlantic Ocean; Leyte Gulf (Philippines); Luzon (Philippines); Aleutian Islands; European Theater; Pacific Theater
    • Highest Rank: Machinist's Mate Third Class
    • Dates of Service: 1943-1945
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran
  • Korean War, 1950-1953

    • Branch of Service: Coast Guard
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2005-04-11; 2005-10-20)
  • Photograph: Digital print [36 items] -- Photograph (collected 1943-1945)
  • Manuscript: Unit histories [3 items] -- Typewritten document (collected unknown)
  • Computer File: CD [1 item] -- Multiple types of electronic files (collected 2008-04-02)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/60697

Cite as

  • Vern Peters, Jr. Collection (AFC/2001/001/60697), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image
  • 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:

Peters Jr., Vern, Sepulveda Ambulatory Care Center & Nursing Home Va Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Becky James, Vance Davis, and Pete Polini. Vern Peters, Jr. Collection. 1943. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.60697/.

APA citation style:

Peters Jr, V., Va Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, S. A. C. C. &. N. H., James, B., Davis, V. & Pete Polini. (1943) Vern Peters, Jr. Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.60697/.

MLA citation style:

Peters Jr., Vern, et al. Vern Peters, Jr. Collection. 1943. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.60697/>.