Willard and Anna Carr collection

This collection relates to Samuel Rhea, M.D., Willard Carr, and Anna (Groover) Carr. Dr. Rhea served as a physician with the 377th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion attached to the 4th Infantry Division in the U.S. Army in the European Theater (ETO). Willard Carr served as an officer in the 377th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion and served in the European Theater of Operations. Anna (Groover) Carr served in the Red Cross as Director of the Enlisted Men's Club, Luchbal Barracks in Antwerp, Belgium.

This collection contains artifacts, manuscripts, photographs, newspapers, maps, magazines, and military documents. Artifacts include Nazi memorabilia, uniform service clothing, and various Red Cross uniforms.

Dr. Samuel Rhea served as one of the Venereal Disease Control Officers. This collection contains his manuscript detailing his experiences during the war. In addition, the miscellaneous military documents include a “Standing Operating Procedure for Burial and Graves Registration.” He was best friends with Willard Carr, even serving as the best man at his wedding to Anna in Antwerp, Belgium.

Willard Carr, from Ansonia, Ohio, entered the U.S. Army as a private in 1941, and he finished the war as a 1st Lieutenant. Most of the miscellaneous military documents pertain to Willard Carr. Some of the military documents include Carr’s Induction Order from 1941, mess officer records from the European Theater, sales of liquor to Belgians, various employment records (pay records and requests for leave), and a recommendation for his Bronze Star from 1945. There is also a records jacket for Willard Carr. He later became a Captain in the Army's 4th Division.

Anna Carr’s part of this collection is primarily comprised of artifacts, such as a Red Cross uniform dress, jackets, patches, and shoulder straps. She and Willard married in Antwerp during the war. Before the war, she graduated with a B.A. in Education from the Florida State College for Women (FSCW) in 1936.

The collection also contains a manuscript history of the 377th Anti-Aircraft Battalion, drafted in 1995 for a reunion held in Kingston, OK. This collection also contains issues of two newspapers, the Dayton Herald and the Ansonian , from 1942 and 1945. There are a unit photograph and one ink drawing. Also, there are ephemera (including currency), various government guidebooks designed to prepare American soldiers for French and British culture, and various Life magazines from 1945. There is a Time magazine dated 1969 upon Eisenhower’s death and a Yank magazine (date not available).