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Henry Lesa [detail from video]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Navy
  • Unit of Service: 23rd Naval Construction Battalion (NCB Seabees)
  • Location of Service: Kodiak (Alaska); Adak Island (Aleutian Islands); Attu Island (Aleutian Islands); Hawaiian Islands; Guam (Mariana Islands)
  • Highest Rank: Seaman First Class
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/2547

View full service history

"I was there a year and a half, and in the course of that time, I think I saw the sun once." (Video interview, 5:24)

Enlisting in the Naval Reserves in 1942, Henry Lesa was called to active duty in August, and in November, arrived in Kodiak, Alaska, where he became expert in building stairs connected to troop barracks. After an abrupt transfer to Attu, his unit constructed a mess hall during the invasion; despite working only five hundred yards away from combat, they finished the mess hall within a week. After 18 months spent in the Aleutians, he returned stateside, and then shipped out to the Pacific theater; with his unit, he took part in the invasion of Guam and helped to build all the docks on the island.

Interview / Recording

Transcript

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About this Item

Title

  • Henry A. Lesa Collection

Names

  • Lesa, Henry A.
  • Venezio, Thomas
  • Shaker High School/United States Coast Guard Auxiliary

Home State

  • New York (State)

Headings

  • -  Lesa, Henry A.
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- 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: 23rd Naval Construction Battalion (NCB Seabees)
    • Location of Service: Kodiak (Alaska); Adak Island (Aleutian Islands); Attu Island (Aleutian Islands); Hawaiian Islands; Guam (Mariana Islands)
    • Highest Rank: Seaman First Class
    • Dates of Service: 1942-1945
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of video recording (collected unknown)
  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2002-06-20; 1999-12-31)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/2547

Cite as

  • Henry A. Lesa Collection (AFC/2001/001/2547), 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:

Lesa, Henry A, Thomas Venezio, and Shaker High School/United States Coast Guard Auxiliary. Henry A. Lesa Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.02547/.

APA citation style:

Lesa, H. A., Venezio, T. & Shaker High School/United States Coast Guard Auxiliary. (1942) Henry A. Lesa Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.02547/.

MLA citation style:

Lesa, Henry A, Thomas Venezio, and Shaker High School/United States Coast Guard Auxiliary. Henry A. Lesa Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.02547/>.