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Contemporary photo of Robert Galer

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945; Korean War, 1950-1953
  • Branch of Service: Marine Corps
  • Unit of Service: VMF-2 (Marine Fighting Squadron); VMF-211; VMF-224; 3rd MAW (Marine Aircraft Wing); 2nd MAW (Marine Aircraft Wing); 1st MAW (Marine Aircraft Wing); MAG-12 (Marine Aircraft Group); Fleet Marine Force (FMF), Pacific; VMF-24 (Marine Fighter Squadron)
  • Location of Service: Pearl Harbor; Guadalcanal (Solomon Islands); Iwo Jima; Peleliu Island (Palau); Corpus Christi, Texas; Pacific Theater; Korea; Pacific Ocean; El Toro, California
  • Highest Rank: Brigadier General; Lieutenant Colonel
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/12798

View full service history

Interview / Recording

About this Item

Title

  • Robert Edward Galer Collection

Names

  • Arnold, Larry P.
  • Galer, Robert Edward

Home State

  • Texas

Headings

  • -  Galer, Robert Edward
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Marine Corps.
  • -  Korean War, 1950-1953 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Marine Corps.

Form

  • VHS

Extent

  • 1 item

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Marine Corps
    • Unit of Service: VMF-2 (Marine Fighting Squadron); VMF-211; VMF-224; 3rd MAW (Marine Aircraft Wing); 2nd MAW (Marine Aircraft Wing)
    • Location of Service: Pearl Harbor; Guadalcanal (Solomon Islands); Iwo Jima; Peleliu Island (Palau); Corpus Christi, Texas; Pacific Theater
    • Highest Rank: Lieutenant Colonel
    • Dates of Service: 1936-1957
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran earned the Medal of Honor for conspicuous heroism and courage above and beyond the call of duty as leader of a marine fighter squadron in aerial combat with enemy Japanese forces in the Solomon Islands area. The veteran lead his squadron repeatedly in daring and aggressive raids against Japanese aerial forces, vastly superior in numbers, The veteran availed himself of every favorable attack opportunity, individually shooting down 11 enemy bomber and fighter aircraft over a period of 29 days.
  • Korean War, 1950-1953

    • Branch of Service: Marine Corps
    • Unit of Service: 1st MAW (Marine Aircraft Wing); MAG-12 (Marine Aircraft Group); Fleet Marine Force (FMF), Pacific; VMF-24 (Marine Fighter Squadron)
    • Location of Service: Korea; Pacific Ocean; El Toro, California
    • Highest Rank: Brigadier General
    • Entrance into Service: Commissioned
    • Military Status: veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran was a F-4U pilot in Korea and was shot down once, but was saved from being taken prisoner by a helicopter rescue.

Materials

  • Video: VHS [1 item] -- Speech (collected 2002-10-08)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/12798

Cite as

  • Robert Edward Galer Collection (AFC/2001/001/12798), 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:

Arnold, Larry P, and Robert Edward Galer. Robert Edward Galer Collection. 1936. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.12798/.

APA citation style:

Arnold, L. P. & Galer, R. E. (1936) Robert Edward Galer Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.12798/.

MLA citation style:

Arnold, Larry P, and Robert Edward Galer. Robert Edward Galer Collection. 1936. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.12798/>.