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Walter Dowdy [2004]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Korean War, 1950-1953
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: Company D, 24th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division
  • Location of Service: Fort Riley, Kansas; Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; Camp Stoneman, California; Camp Gifu, Japan; Korea
  • Highest Rank: Corporal
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/20008

View full service history

"'We don't need cooks in Korea; we need soldiers. So we're going to give you a choice of carrying a machine gun or a radio.'" (Video Interview, 11:39)

Walter Dowdy's military career was marked by frustration. He enlisted in 1948 out of high school, passed a test to enter Officer Candidate School but was instead shipped off to Japan in early 1950. He finally received orders to report to OCS back in the U.S. in September, but the Korean War broke out and the Army assigned him to a combat unit. Dowdy was surprised to find that it was an all-black unit, as he had served in Japan under white officers. In July 1950, he was hit in the face with shrapnel; among his hospital visitors in Japan was General Douglas MacArthur. His military career ended in 1951, but Dowdy was a success as an educational administrator, despite encountering obstacles because of his race and his disability.

Interview / Recording

Transcript

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Interview / Recording

Transcript

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About this Item

Title

  • Walter Dowdy, Jr. Collection

Names

  • Willie, Michael Lloyd
  • WRCB-TV Channel 3
  • Bowen, Sarah
  • Dowdy Jr., Walter

Home State

  • Tennessee

Headings

  • -  Dowdy Jr., Walter
  • -  Korean War, 1950-1953 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Race

  • Black or African American

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • Korean War, 1950-1953

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: Company D, 24th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division
    • Location of Service: Fort Riley, Kansas; Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; Camp Stoneman, California; Camp Gifu, Japan; Korea
    • Highest Rank: Corporal
    • Dates of Service: 1948-1951
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of video recording (collected 2013-05-24)
  • Video: Betacam SP [2 items] -- Oral history interview (collected 2004-02-18)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/20008

Cite as

  • Walter Dowdy, Jr. Collection (AFC/2001/001/20008), 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:

Willie, Michael Lloyd, Wrcb-Tv Channel 3, Sarah Bowen, and Walter Dowdy Jr. Walter Dowdy, Jr. Collection. 1948. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.20008/.

APA citation style:

Willie, M. L., Wrcb-Tv Channel 3, Bowen, S. & Dowdy Jr, W. (1948) Walter Dowdy, Jr. Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.20008/.

MLA citation style:

Willie, Michael Lloyd, et al. Walter Dowdy, Jr. Collection. 1948. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.20008/>.