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John Boehne in uniform [n.d.]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Navy
  • Unit of Service: Amphibious Force; USS LST-375 (Landing Ship Tank)
  • Location of Service: Little Creek, Virginia; Cornwall, England; Omaha Beach, Normandy, France; Washington, DC; European Theater
  • Highest Rank: Lieutenant
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/31844

View full service history

"We are safe and hearty." (Telegram from John William Boehne III to his father, 6/23/1944)

The son of a U.S. Congressman from Indiana, Lieutenant John William Boehne III enlisted in the Navy in 1942, and served with the Amphibious Corps. While his memoir recounts his experiences on D-Day aboard USS LST-375 (Landing Ship Tank), and the carnage he witnessed on the beach, his original letters and scrapbook present another facet of his story--that of his time stationed in England before the invasion. Maps of London, ticket stubs, menus, and postcards provide a sense of his travels and pub crawls throughout the countryside. Letters received from Rena, a member of the women's branch of the British Army, hint at the close ties that often developed between military members and their British hosts. As Rena relates in a letter, "Yes our acquaintance was short, but so very sweet."

Interview / Recording

More Resources

Excerpt from interview in which veteran discusses the lead-up to D-Day

Excerpt from interview in which veteran discusses his experiences on D-Day

[ Top Secret "Neptune" Hq. CT16 & CT18, Div Trps. Landing Diagram, Annex E Sheet 1 ]
[ Top Secret "Neptune" Hq. CT16 & CT18, Div Trps. Landing Diagram, Annex E Sheet 2 ]
[ Map chart and shoreline sketch ]

Show more resources (63)

[ Request for leave [12/20/1944] ]
[ Change of duty [1/19/1945] ]
[ Memo from USS LST 375, Re: assuming duties of gunnery officer [2/1/1945] ]
[ Leave request [2/14/1945] ]
[ Change of duty [June-July 1945] ]
[ Travel itinerary [7/30/1945] ]
[ Statement of active sea duty [8/13/1945] ]
[ Points for Discharge [10/1945] ]
[ Authority to wear theatre of war ribbons [10/10/1945] ]
[ Notification of appointment [11/7/1945] ]
[ Retention on Active Duty [3/13/1946] ]
[ Discharge from active duty [1946] ]
[ Wallet-size, laminated certificate of satisfactory service [1946] ]
[ Change of classification [1948] ]
[ Appointment in the Naval Reserve [8/1948] ]
[ U.S.N.R. Permanent Appointment Acknowledgement [11/26/1948] ]
[ Memo Re: Assignment to the Voluntary Reserve Medical Division[4/21/1949] ]
[ Annual Qualifications Questionnaire [11/11/1949] ]
[ Transfer to Inactive Status [12/29/1950] ]
[ Acceptance of Boehne's retirement from the Naval Reserve [8/15/1952] ]
[ Appointment in Naval Reserve [3/12/1943] ]
[ Orders for Ensign John William Boehne, USNR [3/12/1943] ]
[ Orders for Ensign John W. Boehne [4/20/1943] ]
[ Change of Duty [6/15/1943] ]
[ Change of Duty [7/22/1943] ]
[ Orders [10/31/1943] ]
[ Change of Duty [11/28/1943] ]
[ Request for Leave [1/15/1944] ]
[ Watch List [2/14/1944] ]
[ Orders [3/10/1944] ]
[ Report of physical examination for promotion [5/31/1944] ]
[ Temporary Appointment [6/3/1944] ]
[ Telegram to his father, John W. Boehne, Jr. [6/23/1944] ]
[ Request for Leave [10/26/1944] ]
[ Memoir: "A record of events during twenty interesting and memorable months" ]
[ Letter from Congressman John W. Boehne, Jr., to his son John W. Boehne III [12/8/1941] ]
[ Letter from F.R. Webber [10/20/1943] ]
[ Letter from John W. Boehne, Jr., to his son John W. Boehne III [12/27/1943] ]
[ Letter from Rena to Bill, London, England [n.d.] ]
[ Letter from Rena to Bill, London, England [n.d.] ]
[ Letter from Rena to Bill, London, England [n.d.] ]
[ Letter from Rena to Bill, London, England [n.d.] ]
[ Letter from Rena to Bill, London, England [n.d.] ]
[ Letter from Rena to Bill, London, England [n.d.] ]
[ Letter from Rena to Bill, London, England [n.d.] ]
[ Letter from Rena to Bill, London, England [n.d.] ]
[ Letter from Rena to Bill, London, England [n.d.] ]
[ Letter from Rena to Bill, London, England [n.d.] ]
[ Letter from Rena to Bill, London, England [4/10/1944] ]
[ Normandy invasion map, Appendix 1 to Annex A to Operation Order BB-44 "Top Secret Neptune" ]
[ Top Secret Omaha Assault Area Diagram Reference BA2073 ]
[ Map: Omaha Beach-East (Colleville-sur-Mer) ]
[ Scrapbook. Mementos from Boehne's service years, primarily while overseas. ]
[ "Welcome!" Newsletter given out to troops arriving in England ]
[ Three letters concerning Boehne's participation in a "Normandy Portraits" Exhibition in 1994 ]
[ Clothing invoices ]
[ Collection of items from the "SP News Ticker" on 11/14/1946 ]
[ Poem: "Reconversion" ]
[ Insignia of Boehne's Midshipmen Class at Furnald Hall, Columbia University, New York [1942-43] ]
[ A Poem by Thomas Hardy and apocryphal words of Abraham Lincoln ]
[ Military patch ]
[ Partial poem written on a blank V-Mail form [n.d.] ]
[ "Contract" signifying Petrena Park Moyes, "Rena", as a member of Episolon Beta [12/25/1944] ]

About this Item

Title

  • John William Boehne, III Collection

Names

  • Lebo, Cody
  • Boehne III, John William
  • Platts, Todd R.
  • U.S. House of Representatives/Todd R. Platts

Home State

  • Pennsylvania

Headings

  • -  Boehne III, John William
  • -  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: Amphibious Force; USS LST-375 (Landing Ship Tank)
    • Location of Service: Little Creek, Virginia; Cornwall, England; Omaha Beach, Normandy, France; Washington, DC; European Theater
    • Highest Rank: Lieutenant
    • Dates of Service: 1942-1946
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Photograph: Original photographic print [10 items] -- Photograph (collected 1944-1993)
  • Video: Digital File [1 item] -- Digitized Copy (collected 2003-01; 2018)
  • Video: Digital File [1 item] -- Digitized Copy (collected 2003-01; 2018)
  • Video: VHS [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2003-01)
  • Manuscript: Mixed (Multiple types of manuscripts) [2 items] -- Mixed (handwritten and typewritten documents) (collected 1942-1944)
  • Manuscript: Diaries and journals [1 item] -- Handwritten document (collected 1942-1946)
  • Manuscript: Memoirs [1 item] -- Mixed (handwritten and typewritten documents) (collected 1942-1946)
  • Manuscript: Scrapbooks [1 item] -- Mixed (handwritten and typewritten documents) (collected 1943-1945)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/31844

Cite as

  • John William Boehne, III Collection (AFC/2001/001/31844), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image
  • video

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

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:

Lebo, Cody, John William Boehne Iii, Todd R Platts, and U.S. House Of Representatives/Todd R. Platts. John William Boehne, III Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.31844/.

APA citation style:

Lebo, C., Boehne Iii, J. W., Platts, T. R. & U.S. House Of Representatives/Todd R. Platts. (1942) John William Boehne, III Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.31844/.

MLA citation style:

Lebo, Cody, et al. John William Boehne, III Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.31844/>.