United States. Army. Airborne Division, 101st

Scope and Contents

This collection contains the oral history transcript of Lieutenant Colonel Eugene A. Dance pertaining to his World War II service as a First Lieutenant serving in Europe. Oral history transcript states that Eugene Dance (served 1941-46) discusses his experiences in the 38th Infantry Division and the 101st Airborne in World War II.

Scope and Contents This collection relates to James W. Harrington who served with the 101st Airborne Division during World War II. This collection includes a manuscript entitled Return to Ville de Bastogne: A Time Remembered, which concerns the Battle for Bastogne, Belgium. This manuscript consists of a 10-page memoir of the Battle of the Bulge following Harrington's return visit to Bastogne 53 years later. He describes his division's encampment prior to the Battle of the Bulge. This manuscript is an exclusive Battle of the Bulge memoir. An additional page entitled "A Trek Remembered" is an account of a specific experience on December 17, 1944. It also includes...

Scope and Contents

This collection relates to James W. George who served as a Chief Master Sergeant in the 9th U.S Army Air Force. Wilmot R. George was James George's brother and also served in the European Theater. He served as a Tech Sergeant and received a Silver Star. This collection contains a one-page handwritten summary of James George's military service and ten-page memoir of his brother Wilmont's service during the Second World War.

Scope and Contents

Mario Joseph Patruno's collection includes a manuscript/oral history that covers his service in the 101st Airborne through his wounding in Operation Market Garden. The collection also includes three photographs, two of Patruno and one photograph taken inside Patruno's C-47 Transport on the night of 5 June 1944.

Scope and Contents This collection relates to Stanley P. Koss who served as a paratrooper with the 101st Airborne Division during World War II. Koss participated in the battle for Bastogne, Belgium. The majority of this collection pertains to Stanley P. Koss's war bond tour of war production plants in New York and New Jersey as part of an effort to boost war worker morale. The collection includes military orders, itineraries, letters, photographs, and newspaper clippings related to this tour, as well as several souvenirs acquired during the trip. Also included are letters from Koss's pre-service employer, Christmas cards, and a telegram informing Koss's mother that Stanley's brother had been killed in...

Scope and Contents

The collection of Tom L. Gibson contains an oral history transcript of an interview provided by the Reichelt Program for Oral History.  Gibson served during World War II with the 101st Airborne Division in Europe as a Second Lieutenant and participated in Holland during Operation Market Garden.

Scope and Contents

Hy Wakstein was a Jewish American serviceman who reached the rank of Staff Sergeant with the 778th Anti-Aircraft-Automatic Weapons Battalion, Self Propelled, (served 1943-46) and discusses his experiences as an Army communications officer in the European theater of World War II in this oral history transcript. Wakstein participated in the Battle of the Bulge, and his division advanced further east into Germany than any other American division.

Scope and Contents This collection relates to Staff Sergeant William A. Kummerer who served with the 463rd Field Artillery Battalion, 101st Airborne Division during World War II.  The majority of this collection concerns the reunions of the 101st Airborne, 463rd Field Artillery Battalion, on the creation of the division shoulder patch. Included in the collection are many reunion photographs, photographs of the patch, Mr. Kummerer's decorations, and several captured German insignias. There are several newsletters or magazine articles that describe not only the unit's history but its efforts against the German offensive at Bastogne in December 1944. The collection further contains files and...

Scope and Contents

This folder contains the oral history of William Coleman recorded on May 15, 2003.  Coleman served with the 101st Airborne Division in England and participated in the June 6, 1944 D-Day airborne operation into Normandy, France.  He was later captured by German troops and spent time in a prisoner of war camp.