Top of page

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945; Korean War, 1950-1953
  • Dates of Service: 1939-1967; 1951-1959
  • Branch of Service: Navy
  • Service Unit/Ship: ZP-871 (Blimp Squadron); VP-44 (Patrol Squadron); VPB-907 (Patrol Bombing Squadron); VPM-57 (Meteorology Squadron); VP-871 (Patrol Squadron); VR-5 (Air Transport Squadron)
  • Battles & Campaigns: Midway; Guadalcanal; Solomon Islands; Bismarck Archipelago; Philippines; Rabaul; Seoul
  • Location of Service: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; Ford Island, Hawaii; Midway; Guadalcanal (Solomon Islands); New Britain Island (Bismarck Archipelago); New Ireland (Bismarck Archipelago); Green Island (New Guinea); Atsugi, Japan; Kimpo, Korea; Kimpo, Korea
  • Highest Rank: Lieutenant Junior Grade
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/78221

View full service history

Interview / Recording

About this Item

Title

  • Richard Gould Watson, Jr. Collection

Names

  • Sobba, Robert L.
  • Hill, Barry S.
  • Watson Jr., Richard Gould
  • Warhawk Air Museum

State of Residence at Time of Collection Donation

  • Idaho

Headings

  • -  Watson Jr., Richard Gould
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Navy.
  • -  Korean War, 1950-1953 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Navy.

Form

  • DVD

Extent

  • 1 item

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Race

  • Other

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Navy
    • Service Unit/Ship: VP-44 (Patrol Squadron); VPB-907 (Patrol Bombing Squadron); VPM-57 (Meteorology Squadron); VP-871 (Patrol Squadron); VR-5 (Air Transport Squadron)
    • Location of Service: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; Ford Island, Hawaii; Midway; Guadalcanal (Solomon Islands); New Britain Island (Bismarck Archipelago); New Ireland (Bismarck Archipelago); Green Island (New Guinea); Atsugi, Japan; Kimpo, Korea
    • Battles & Campaigns: Midway; Guadalcanal; Solomon Islands; Bismarck Archipelago; Philippines; Rabaul
    • Highest Rank: Lieutenant Junior Grade
    • Dates of Service: 1939-1967
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran served as an aerial gunner, chief aviation parachutist, flight engineer (CAA certified), plane captain, and as an aircraft maintenance officer.

  • Korean War, 1950-1953

    • Branch of Service: Navy
    • Service Unit/Ship: ZP-871 (Blimp Squadron)
    • Location of Service: Kimpo, Korea
    • Battles & Campaigns: Seoul
    • Highest Rank: Lieutenant Junior Grade
    • Dates of Service: 1951-1959
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran served as a flight engineer and plane captain. He received his commission to Lieutenant Junior Grade in 1957 and served as the aircraft maintenance officer of the last Navy Blimp Squadron (ZP-871).

Materials

  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2011-03-08)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/78221

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:

Sobba, Robert L, Barry S Hill, Richard Gould Watson Jr, and Warhawk Air Museum. Richard Gould Watson, Jr. Collection. 1939. Personal Narrative. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/afc2001001.78221/.

APA citation style:

Sobba, R. L., Hill, B. S., Watson Jr, R. G. & Warhawk Air Museum. (1939) Richard Gould Watson, Jr. Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/afc2001001.78221/.

MLA citation style:

Sobba, Robert L, et al. Richard Gould Watson, Jr. Collection. 1939. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <aj.sunback.homes/item/afc2001001.78221/>.