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Dean Galles at time of interview [8/12/2007]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: 2nd Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division
  • Location of Service: Attu Island (Aleutian Islands); Kwajalein Island (Marshall Islands); Leyte Island (Philippines); Okinawa Island (Ryukyu Islands)
  • Highest Rank: Captain
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/76663

View full service history

"We found out we were going to Attu, and we all said, where the heck is that?" (Video interview, 8:16)

After training in the Mojave Desert with the expectation of heading to North Africa, service on Attu came as a shock to Captain Dean Galles. Landing at Massacre Bay in the spring of 1943, he coped with trenchfoot and inadequate supplies before engaging in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy in the Battle of Attu in May, 1943, during which he was bayoneted four times. After a brief respite in Hawaii, later service brought further injuries: his unit saw combat on Kwajalein and Leyte, where he contracted dengue fever, and Okinawa, where he was shot. In 2005, he returned to Attu as part of a documentary film project, an experience that he characterizes as "eerie" but rewarding.

Interview / Recording

Transcript

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About this Item

Title

  • Dean E. Galles Collection

Names

  • Galles, Dean E.
  • Seifert, Chris
  • Montana PBS
  • Seifert, Christin

Home State

  • Montana

Headings

  • -  Galles, Dean E.
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: 2nd Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division
    • Location of Service: Attu Island (Aleutian Islands); Kwajalein Island (Marshall Islands); Leyte Island (Philippines); Okinawa Island (Ryukyu Islands)
    • Highest Rank: Captain
    • Dates of Service: 1941-1946
    • Entrance into Service: Commissioned
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2007-08-12)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of video recording (collected 2007-08-12)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/76663

Cite as

  • Dean E. Galles Collection (AFC/2001/001/76663), 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:

Galles, Dean E, Chris Seifert, Montana Pbs, and Christin Seifert. Dean E. Galles Collection. 1941. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.76663/.

APA citation style:

Galles, D. E., Seifert, C., Montana Pbs & Seifert, C. (1941) Dean E. Galles Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.76663/.

MLA citation style:

Galles, Dean E, et al. Dean E. Galles Collection. 1941. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.76663/>.