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Shields Wilson

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Dates of Service: 1942-1946
  • Branch of Service: Navy
  • Service Unit/Ship: Amphibian Corps
  • Battles & Campaigns: Operation Overlord (D-Day Normandy Invasion)
  • Location of Service: United States; England; Normandy, France
  • Highest Rank: Lieutenant
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/9709

View full service history

"I doubt that I slept at all the night of the Normandy invasion." (Video interview, 18:41, third video)

A self-described "old tough country boy," Navy Lieutenant Shields Wilson weathered a number of tough situations early on in the Amphibious Corps: he nearly drowned during a training incident, and his ship survived a torpedo attack en route to England. As an officer aboard an LCVP (Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel), his role on D-Day was to "take troops to the beaches as fast as possible and return and get some more." Here, he comments on the impact of his combat experiences on his faith, the spectacular resistance that American troops met during the invasion, and the sheer deprivation faced by the English during the war.

About this Item

Title

  • Shields Wilson Collection

Names

  • Willie, Michael Lloyd
  • WRCB-TV Channel 3
  • Bowen, Sarah
  • Wilson, Shields

State of Residence at Time of Collection Donation

  • Tennessee

Headings

  • -  Wilson, Shields
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Navy.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Race

  • White

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Navy
    • Service Unit/Ship: Amphibian Corps
    • Location of Service: United States; England; Normandy, France
    • Battles & Campaigns: Operation Overlord (D-Day Normandy Invasion)
    • Highest Rank: Lieutenant
    • Dates of Service: 1942-1946
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of video recording (collected 2012-09-30)
  • Video: Betacam SP [3 items] -- Oral history interview (collected 2003-06-10)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/9709

Additional Metadata Formats

Special Format

Wars & Conflicts

Service Branch

Location of Service

Battles & Campaigns

Service Unit/Ship

Highest Rank

Service Entrance

Discharge Status

Gender

Race

State of Residence at Time of Collection Donation

Interviewee

Interviewer

Organization/Affiliation

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 Shields Wilson. Shields Wilson Collection. 1942.

APA citation style:

Willie, M. L., Wrcb-Tv Channel 3, Bowen, S. & Wilson, S. (1942) Shields Wilson Collection.

MLA citation style:

Willie, Michael Lloyd, et al. Shields Wilson Collection. 1942.