Frederick W. Ritter collection

Collection

Identifier: 12.0040

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Frederick W. Ritter served in the Marine Corps as an engineer officer during World War II. He specifically served as a Vought F4U Corsair engineer. He trained at Parris Island, Jacksonville Naval Base, and attended Officer training at Quantico. He met his wife when he joined a church choir in Jacksonville, corresponding with her throughout the war. During the battle of Okinawa, he oversaw the maintenance of the Corvairs that protected the Navy from Kamikaze attacks. The collection includes Ritter's military documents, official paperwork, various letters, photographs, pins and badges, as well as magazines, articles, programs, and photographs from reunions and other postwar events related to his wartime experiences.

Dates

Created: 1942-2007
Other: Majority of material found in 1942-1946
Other: Date acquired: 07/24/0012

Creator

Frederick W. Ritter (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open to all researchers.

Conditions Governing Use

All requests for permission to quote, publish, broadcast or otherwise reproduce from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Associate Dean for Special Collections & Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Florida State University Libraries as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.

Biographical or Historical Information

Frederick W. Ritter was born in Elmhurst, New York on November 29, 1914. He graduated from Cornell University in 1936 and attended Brooklyn Law School for a year before leaving. Ritter joined the Marine Corps in February 1942, attending boot camp at Parris Island, engineering training at Jacksonville Naval Base, and officers training at Quantico before being assigned to the 3rd Marine Air Force Division. He served in the Battle of Okinawa, then prepared for the invasion of Japan prior to the conclusion of the war. He married Alice Burrowes in 1946, having met her in a church choir while he was stationed at Jacksonville Naval Base. He passed away in Rochester, New York on March 22, 2012.

Extent

2.00 boxes

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Custodial History

Transferred from the Institute on World War II and the Human Experience to FSU Libraries Special Collections & Archives in July 2022.

Source of Acquisition

Kathryn Ritter-Vicich

Method of Acquisition

Donation

Processing Information

The scrapbook was photographed as received then dismantled to better house photographs for storage and preservation purposes. The originals are stored in the photograph collection. The copies are included in the general collection. Artifacts were also stored in the artifact collection, separate from the general collection for storage and preservation purposes.