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Colonel Louis Gerken in uniform [1985]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Cold War; World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: 286th Engineer Combat Battalion, 7th Army; 343rd Engineer Combat Battalion; 501st Engineer Combat Battalion; 448th Engineer Combat Battalion; 708th Engineer Combat Battalion; 63rd Infantry Division; 574th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion
  • Location of Service: United States; Camp Carson, Colorado; England; France; Austria; Italy; European Theater
  • Highest Rank: Colonel; Sergeant
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/90455

View full service history

Interview / Recording

About this Item

Title

  • Louis Charles Gerken Collection

Names

  • Gerken, Louis Charles
  • Veterans Museum at Balboa Park
  • Appleton, Rick

Home State

  • California

Headings

  • -  Gerken, Louis Charles
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.
  • -  Cold War -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: 286th Engineer Combat Battalion, 7th Army
    • Location of Service: Camp Carson, Colorado; England; France; Austria; Italy; European Theater
    • Highest Rank: Sergeant
    • Dates of Service: 1944-1946
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran supervised bridge building before and after the end of World War II.
  • Cold War

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: 343rd Engineer Combat Battalion; 501st Engineer Combat Battalion; 448th Engineer Combat Battalion; 708th Engineer Combat Battalion; 63rd Infantry Division; 574th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion
    • Location of Service: United States
    • Highest Rank: Colonel
    • Dates of Service: 1946-1985
    • Entrance into Service: Commissioned
    • Military Status: veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran served in the Army Material Command; 8th Cavalry Regiment; and Department of the Army.

Materials

  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2012-04-02; 2012)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 2012-08)
  • Computer File: CD [1 item] -- Electronic file of manuscript (collected 2013; 2013)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/90455

Cite as

  • Louis Charles Gerken Collection (AFC/2001/001/90455), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image
  • video
  • pdf

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:

Gerken, Louis Charles, Veterans Museum At Balboa Park, and Rick Appleton. Louis Charles Gerken Collection. 1944. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.90455/.

APA citation style:

Gerken, L. C., Veterans Museum At Balboa Park & Appleton, R. (1944) Louis Charles Gerken Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.90455/.

MLA citation style:

Gerken, Louis Charles, Veterans Museum At Balboa Park, and Rick Appleton. Louis Charles Gerken Collection. 1944. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.90455/>.