Diary

This collection relates to Francis E. Ridgway who served as a Gunners Mate, Second Class, on the United States Naval Destroyer Ship U.S.S Ellyson. This collection contains 36 letters from Francis Ridgway to Ruth De Rosier and two letters from "Father Bill" to Ruth De Rosier. There is also a personal handwritten journal from Francis which documents his time aboard the Ellyson, and an Official Order for awards earned by Ridgway.

Leonard J. Travaline (also spelled Traveline in some records) served in the United States Army as an Artilleryman from 1941 to 1945. He served with the 166th Field Artillery Battalion and later the 938th Field Artillery Battallion in the Mediterranean and European Theaters. He served as a front line observer in Oran, North Africa, Italy, France, Germany, and Austria. The collection contains a transcribed daily journal that Travaline kept from the time of his landing in North Africa until the end of the war and his arrival back in the States in September 1945.