United States. Army Air Forces--Military life
Found in 33 Collections and/or Records:
460th Heavy Bombardment Group Society papers
Sheldon F. Berlow collection
This collection relates to Sheldon F. Berlow who served with the 352nd Fighter Group, 8th Air Force, as the chief public information officer. This collection contains letters, photographs, newspapers, and official documents from Sheldon F. Berlow's time in England and Belgium. Numerous photographs document the activities of the 352nd Fighter Group. Letters discuss the progress of the war in Europe and life on the homefront.
Charles Diedling transcript
This collection contains an oral history transcript of Staff Sergeant Charles Diedling, a flight engineer on a B-24 with the 460th Bomb Group at Spinazola, Italy. Charles Diedling discusses his training as a flight engineer and waist gunner for the B-24 at Keesler AFB, Mississippi and Loredo AFB, Texas. In June of 1944, he was assigned to the 460th Bomb Group of the 15th Air Force in Spinazola, Italy. Diedling was shot down over Germany becoming a prisoner of war.
Clarke M. Brandt collection
The collection of Clarke M. Brandt contains an oral history transcript and various publications about army life during World War II. In it are examples such as George (Bob) Caron who was a tail gunner on the "Enola Gay" B-29 Bomber. The oral history includes Caron's eyewitness account of the bomb being dropped on Hiroshima. Also included are pamphlets and newsletters including "War Buddies," which covers the relationship between a soldier and his canine companion through his years as a member of the US Marine Corps. "War Buddies" is written by Earle Welch and Dick Roberts.
Crispen Nissen papers
Crispen Nissen served as a sergeant in the U.S. Army Air Corps with the 12th and 18th Weather Squadrons during World War II in the United States, England, North Africa, and Italy. This collection includes an original diary Nissen kept from 1941-1942, describing his daily thoughts, experiences, and observations about the general war effort. The collection also includes Vmail and handwritten letters, written by Nissen to his fiancee and future wife, Etrulia Ellis, as well as the letters she sent to him.
James Crooke papers
This collection consists of an oral history transcript of an interview with 2nd Lt. James J. Crooke, who served in World War II. Crooke served in the Army Air Corps with the 303rd Bomb Group in the European Theater (ETO).
Curtis Franklin Walgren collection
Deborah Gierach papers
Everett Walker papers
This collection contains the oral history interview of Lieutenant Colonel Everett Walker conducted by the Institute on World War II and the Human Experience. Walker was forced to bail out very near the target on his eighteenth mission as a bombardier and gunner on a B-24. He discusses his rescue from the water, his interrogation experience and the conditions of his internment. He also talks about the many different escape attempts made by the American POWs at Stalag Luft III.
George Logue transcript
This oral history interview transcript relates to George Logue, an aerial gunner armament specialist on a B-24 assigned to the 15th Air Force. Logue discusses his bombing missions over Europe, being shot down, life as a prisoner of war, and his brief service with the British 5th Army.
James Feerick papers
The collection of First Lieutenant James Feerick contains an oral history transcript of an interview provided by the Reichelt Program for Oral History. Feerick served in the U.S. Army Air Corps as part of the 8th Bomber Command, 1st Bombardment Wing, 91st Bombardment Group in the European theater. He was based in London at Bassingbourne.
The collection also includes a copy of a magazine article from 2000 about a U.S. government agency that smuggled out contraband (radio parts, etc.), into German POW camps and letters along with other information. The agency also helped Allied POWs escape.
James W. George papers
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.
John C. Henning manuscript
John E. Schmidt, Jr. papers
32 page interview covering John E. Schmidt's life from birth and early childhood to his military career and life on base in the Panama Canal Zone. The vast majority of the interview concerns life in the Canal Zone from leisure activities to medical matters.
John Eugene Zemanek papers
This collection relates to John Eugene Zemanek who served as a bombardier on a B-24 with the 455th Bombardment Group in Italy during World War II. The collection contains a typed account of the events of April 25, 1945, Zemanek's last bombing mission, and annotated photocopies of pages from Stephen Ambrose's The Wild Blue.
John B. Jones collection
This collection consists of photographs, letters, and other materials documenting the service of John B. Jones Jr. who served with the U.S. Army Air Force in ground crew support in New Guinea with 27th Air Depot Group during World War II. Included in the collection is documentation about the medical treatment Jones Jr. received after a welding accident that lead to the explosion of a airplane gas tank. The collection includes programs for several postwar reunion of the 27th Air Depot Group and a number of photographs documenting these events.
Fred L. Kagan Jr. collection
Charlotte D. Mansfield collection
Alan May papers
Alan May served as a gunner on a B-24 Bomber with the 451st Bomb Group during World War II in Italy and was shot down during a mission to Ploesti, Romania, and became a POW. May was awarded the Purple Heart, Air Medals, 2 Presidential Unit Citations, and the Distinguished Flying Cross. Included in this collection is a footnoted manuscript diary of missions.
Michael C. Sansone papers
Omer E. Englehart collection
Theodore Oxman collection
This collection consists of correspondence and official records related to the service of Theodore Oxman in the Army Air Force in World War II. As part of the collection there is a sixty-fifth anniversary booklet of the Cornell University’s Class of 1948 where alumni recount their World War II experiences in the different branches of the armed services. The collection also contains two photographs of Oxman and a book documenting the personnel and mission of the Grenada Army Air Field in Grenada, Mississippi.
Paul K. Dougherty collection
The Paul K. Dougherty Collection includes photographs, documents, and various artifacts Dougherty obtained while in Germany. His collection contains rare original German propaganda publications such as Deutschland Erwach and Adolf Hitler. Also included in the collection is a personal photograph album that belonged to Nazi official and founder of the anti-Semitic newspaper Der Stürmer, Julius Streicher. Other items included are Nazi Party flags/fabrics, Paul K. Dougherty’s camera, and camera accessories.
Francis W. Purdy manuscript
This collection relates to Francis W. Purdy who served as a Navigator on B-17 bombers with the 347th Bomb Squadron, 99th Bombardment Group (Heavy), during World War II. He was stationed in Italy and flew during missions over both Italy and Austria. This collection contains a manuscript memoir written by Purdy which includes pages from training manuals and photographs from Purdy's life.
James Reed collection
This collection relates to James Reed who served with the U.S. Army Air Corps 1st Fighter Control Squadron during World War II in the Pacific Theater. The collection includes an oral history interview transcript of Reed and comrade Chester Driest where they discussed their experiences in the Pacific Theater. Both served as radio operators that directed Army Air Force planes with ground based radar. The men also recount a few experiences before deployment and experiences in local indigenous populations they encounterd on the islands.
Joe Rendelman papers
This collection contains a copy of the oral history interview of Joe Rendelman who served with the 15th Air Force in Italy. He was shot down over Romania after twenty-five missions. He spent six months in a POW camp and was liberated by the Russians in 1944.
Roland Cadoret papers
Simeon C. Sparkman collection
This collection contains a compilation of personal letters and official documents, photographs, personal items, and military badges of Sgt. Simeon C. Sparkman who served with the 8th Air Force from 1943 to 1945, at Burtonwood Air Depot, Warrington, England, also known as Base Air Depot No. 1. Sparkman was specifically assigned to Hangar 5, Mary Ann Site, “B” Shift, Aero Repair Crew 6, and was the ranking NCO on Crew 6 in the grade of T/Sgt. The papers in this collection are comprised of correspondence with his wife, parents, and other family members and close friends.
Stalag 17 POWs papers
This collection was compiled by Edward McKenzie and includes a directory of New Hampshire Ex-POWs book. It is a boxed collection of approroximately 20 individual collections of American POWs who were interned at Stalag 17. The individual collections collectively consist of personal papers, transcripts, documents, photographs, and drawings relating to their experiences as prisoners of war.
Thomas Burns Letters
This is a collection of personal letters written by Thomas Burns (76th Air Base Squadron) during World War II. Burns wrote from Hendricks Field, Sebring, Florida to Mary Donnelly in Massachusetts. He mostly wrote of his experiences and activities on the base. While the letters do not deal with Florida or World War II, they do offer a glimpse into courtship during that era and life on an air base.