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Hoyt Condra, 2003

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945; Korean War, 1950-1953
  • Dates of Service: 1950-1951; 1941-1947
  • Branch of Service: Navy
  • Service Unit/Ship: USS Tarbell (DD 142); USS Charleston (PG 51); USS John W. Weeks (DD 701); USS Indiana (BB 58)
  • Location of Service: Norfolk, Virginia; Atlantic Ocean; North Africa; Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; Bermuda; Pacific; Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands); Philippines; Iwo Jima; Okinawa Island (Ryukyu Islands); Japan; South Carolina
  • Highest Rank: Petty Officer Second Class
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/18564

View full service history

"I told a buddy sitting beside me, 'My God, they're killing them all.'" (Video Interview, Part 2, 25:16)

Hoyt Condra was 16 when he joined the Navy in September 1941, getting a buddy to sign for him as his father. He began by serving on an escort protecting convoys of merchant ships across the Atlantic. As a gunner, he had a front-row seat for several of the Pacific island invasions, including Iwo Jima, when he watched in horror as the Marines suffered their worst single day of casualties. Japanese planes attacked his ship with strafing and torpedoes, and he was involved in the rescue operation when a sister ship was hit by the deadliest kamikaze attack of the war.

Interview / Recording

More Resources

Interview / Recording

Interview / Recording

About this Item

Title

  • Hoyt B. Condra Collection

Names

  • Willie, Michael Lloyd
  • WRCB-TV Channel 3
  • Condra, Hoyt B.
  • Bowen, Sarah

State of Residence at Time of Collection Donation

  • Tennessee

Headings

  • -  Condra, Hoyt B.
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Navy.
  • -  Korean War, 1950-1953 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Navy.

Form

  • Betacam SP

Extent

  • 3 items

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Navy
    • Service Unit/Ship: USS Tarbell (DD 142); USS Charleston (PG 51); USS John W. Weeks (DD 701); USS Indiana (BB 58)
    • Location of Service: Norfolk, Virginia; Atlantic Ocean; North Africa; Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; Bermuda; Pacific; Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands); Philippines; Iwo Jima; Okinawa Island (Ryukyu Islands); Japan
    • Dates of Service: 1941-1947
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran

  • Korean War, 1950-1953

    • Branch of Service: Navy
    • Location of Service: South Carolina
    • Highest Rank: Petty Officer Second Class
    • Dates of Service: 1950-1951
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran served by training minesweepers off the South Carolina coast.

Materials

  • Video: Betacam SP [3 items] -- Oral history interview (collected 2003-06-16)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/18564

Online Format

  • 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, Hoyt B Condra, and Sarah Bowen. Hoyt B. Condra Collection. 1941. Personal Narrative. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/afc2001001.18564/.

APA citation style:

Willie, M. L., Wrcb-Tv Channel 3, Condra, H. B. & Bowen, S. (1941) Hoyt B. Condra Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/afc2001001.18564/.

MLA citation style:

Willie, Michael Lloyd, et al. Hoyt B. Condra Collection. 1941. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <aj.sunback.homes/item/afc2001001.18564/>.