USMC Oral History Program

Oral history is a vital part of the documentation of Marine Corps history and serves to supplement and complement the written record of historical events. The Marine Corps Oral History Program began during the Vietnam War. At that time, the program focused on interviewing Marines involved in current operations. Thousands of interviews were conducted in the field and at many Marine Corps bases to capture Marines’ experiences and perspectives while still fresh in their minds. Top priority of the Oral History Program continues to be current Marine Corps operations. As a result, the program has produced a rich collection of field interviews spanning almost four decades.

Another key aspect of the Oral History Program is an ever expanding collection of career-length fully transcribed interviews of ranking Marine Corps leaders and other distinguished Marines and former Marines. Taking a broad view of what constitutes oral history, the Marine Corps Oral History Collection also includes a large collection of recorded presentations, briefings, debriefings, speeches, and similar "spoken history."

The Oral History Section processes the interviews so as to make them researcher-friendly. All interviews in the Collection are catalogued in a searchable data base and have either a summary or full transcript describing the interviews’ contents. Currently, the oral history collection consists of approximately 13,000 items covering virtually all aspects of 20th century Marine Corps history. Volunteer-submitted interviews are always welcome. Browse the sections, below, for specific instructions and requirements.