Top of page

Robert Balfour being awarded a medal by Admiral William Halsey, November 11, 1945.

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945; Korean War, 1950-1953
  • Branch of Service: Navy
  • Unit of Service: 3rd Fleet
  • Location of Service: Pacific Theater
  • Highest Rank: Lieutenant Commander
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/2531

View full service history

"I knew all about the atomic bomb two months before it happened, but we didn't know \\nwhat we knew." (Video Interview, 33:11)

He might have been found unfit for service when he enlisted in the wake of Pearl Harbor. But a determined Robert Balfour memorized the eye chart in his first Naval exam room and then managed to disguise a bum knee when he applied to become a Naval officer. He spent his first four months of duty in the Pacific on an LST that MacArthur would later use for his return to the Philippines, and Balfour spent much of the rest of the war working under Admiral Bull Halsey as a communications officer. He was on the deck of the Missouri when the surrender was signed--bad eyes, bad knee, and all.

Interview / Recording

More Resources

Interview / Recording

[ Letter from Dwight Eisenhower [January 13, 1953] ]
[ Letter from Dwight Eisenhower [April 29, 1953] ]
[ Letter from William Jones, curator of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Library [November 1, 1972]. ]
[ Commendation from Admiral Halsey. ]

Show more resources (5)

[ Card certifying veteran's presence at the formal surrender of the Japanese [September 2, 1945] ]
[ Description of card commemorating Japanese surrender. ]
[ Medal awarded veteran for participation in Eisenhower's campaign for President in 1952. ]
[ Letter from Wayne Hood, Executive Director of the Republican National Committee [September 8, 1952] ]
[ Memoir of Robert L. Balfour ]

About this Item

Title

  • Robert Llewellyn Balfour Collection

Names

  • Balfour, Robert Llewellyn

Home State

  • Florida

Headings

  • -  Balfour, Robert Llewellyn
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Navy.
  • -  Korean War, 1950-1953 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Navy.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Navy
    • Unit of Service: 3rd Fleet
    • Location of Service: Pacific Theater
    • Highest Rank: Lieutenant Commander
    • Dates of Service: 1942-1946
    • Military Status: veteran
  • Korean War, 1950-1953

    • Branch of Service: Navy
    • Location of Service: Pacific Theater
    • Highest Rank: Lieutenant Commander
    • Dates of Service: 1950-1951
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Video: Digital Betacam [2 items] -- Digitized Copy (collected unknown)
  • Video: VHS [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Military papers (orders, personnel/201 files, etc) [8 items] -- (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Biographical information [2 items] -- Typewritten document (collected 1996-08-23)
  • Manuscript: Clippings [10 items] -- Typewritten document (collected 2002)
  • Manuscript: Memoirs [18 items] -- (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Mixed (Multiple types of manuscripts) [2 items] -- (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Printed matter [1 item] -- (collected unknown)
  • Artifact: Artifact photocopy [2 items] -- (collected unknown)
  • Photograph: Mixed (Multiple types of photographs) [11 items] -- Photograph (collected unknown)
  • Video: VHS [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected unknown)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/2531

Cite as

  • Robert Llewellyn Balfour Collection (AFC/2001/001/2531), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image
  • video

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Wars & Conflicts

Service Branch

Location of Service

Service Unit

Highest Rank

Discharge Status

Gender

Home State

Interviewee

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:

Balfour, Robert Llewellyn. Robert Llewellyn Balfour Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.02531/.

APA citation style:

Balfour, R. L. (1942) Robert Llewellyn Balfour Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.02531/.

MLA citation style:

Balfour, Robert Llewellyn. Robert Llewellyn Balfour Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.02531/>.