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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: 1329th General Service Regiment
  • Location of Service: European Theater; Pacific Theater; Camp Clyburn, South Carolina; Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Fort Jackson, South Carolina; Clark Air Base, Philippines
  • Highest Rank: Sergeant
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/88079

View full service history

"They told us all to go in there, but don't put on your gas mask until you smell gas." (Audio interview, 5:58)

Drafted into service with the Army's 1329th General Service Regiment in 1943, Sergeant Rollins Edwards served in both the European and Pacific Theaters during World War II. However, his most traumatic experience came before he departed for his overseas service, during training at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana, when he was routinely subjected to chemical weapons--including mustard gas and lewisite--as part of a chemical weapons testing program run by the Army. Every day for thirty days, he and other soldiers were given gas masks and locked in a room that was then pumped full of gas. This treatment left him with a lifetime of chronic, severe skin ailments, intense claustrophobia, and a deep sense of anger that no one was ever held accountable for what he endured.

Rollins Edwards Collection
Interview / Recording

Transcript

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About this Item

Title

  • Rollins Edwards Collection

Names

  • The Citadel, Department of English
  • Edwards, Rollins
  • Owens, Michael T.
  • Maxwell, Lauren Rule

Home State

  • South Carolina

Headings

  • -  Edwards, Rollins
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- 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

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: 1329th General Service Regiment
    • Location of Service: European Theater; Pacific Theater; Camp Clyburn, South Carolina; Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Fort Jackson, South Carolina; Clark Air Base, Philippines
    • Highest Rank: Sergeant
    • Dates of Service: 1943-1946
    • Entrance into Service: Drafted
    • Military Status: veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran was exposed to mustard gas during testing performed by the Chemical Warfare Service.

Materials

  • Audio: CD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2012-03-19; 2012)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 2012-03-19)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/88079

Cite as

  • Rollins Edwards Collection (AFC/2001/001/88079), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • audio
  • online text

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:

The Citadel, Department Of English, Rollins Edwards, Michael T Owens, and Lauren Rule Maxwell. Rollins Edwards Collection. 1943. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.88079/.

APA citation style:

The Citadel, D. O. E., Edwards, R., Owens, M. T. & Maxwell, L. R. (1943) Rollins Edwards Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.88079/.

MLA citation style:

The Citadel, Department Of English, et al. Rollins Edwards Collection. 1943. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.88079/>.