World War, 1939-1945--Germany

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The Francis Montague Wells collection, consisting of seventy-one letters, offers the insight and perspective of an enlisted Private First Class with the 119th Infantry Regiment, 30th Infantry Division, in the European campaign during World War II.  The collection also contains two photographs of Francis Wells and a letter from his daughter Peggy Wells Hughes.

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This collection includes 17 articles, which all pertain to either Francis Yonkin or the 11th Armored Division/3rd Army during World War II as they moved through Europe following the invasion of Normandy during World War II. Also included are 20 photographs, which include some of Francis Yonkin, and also prints of Nazi officers (in Paris at restaurants), and also photographs of tanks and the 11th Armored, as well as stock photographs of General Eisenhower, Churchill, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt (possibly from the Tehran Conference).

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This collection contains the oral history interview of Frank Turosik conducted by Jack Sigler on January 2, 2004. Turosik served as a combat engineer in the Pacific theater of war.

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This manuscript memoir relates to Joseph Freilick who served with the 102nd Infanty Division during World War II in the European Theater.

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This collection contains a memoir, picture, and discharge paper from a Russian prison camp, and certificate from the town of Trebbin about Linker's experience in the Kriegsmarine, Army, and Russian POW camp.

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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.

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This World War II collection relates to Harold Truman Speck, a copilot Flight Officer of nine B-17 bombing raids over Europe. He served with the 545th Bombardment Squadron, 384th Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force. This collection consists of photocopies of photographs, military personnel records, books, medals, pins, and Speck's personal POW journal provided by the Harold Truman Speck family.

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George D. Harris (Army Air Corps, 1942-1945) trained as a radioman and gunner on a B-17 and was assigned to the 91st Bomb Group in England in 1943. His collection contains a photocopy of three articles from the American Ex-Prisoners of War Bulletin from January 1996 and a copy of his oral history interview conducted on February 26, 2003.

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The papers of Harvey Glick contains a transcript that was provided by the Reichelt Program for Oral History. Harvey Glick served with the 63rd Infantry Division in the European theater during World War II.

Scope and Contents The papers include photocopies of letters from Henry L. Harrell, Sr. to his wife, Frances Harrell and his children while stationed in Europe in 1945. Harrell moved often, working in France, Germany, and Austria. His letters include recollections of interactions with European civilians, daily operations of POW hospitals, providing sanitation and medical treatment of POWs and Holocaust survivors, as well as religious (Church) services and daily life for GIs. Harrell’s letters also elaborate on diagnoses (pathologies) found in these hospitals, and hint at the experiences of Holocaust survivors and POWs. The letters also include recollections of his travels throughout France, Germany, and...

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This collection includes photographs and documents pertaining to aerial operations over Europe during World War II. Lt. Herman Simler flew over 30 bombing missions over Europe during his service. The squadrons specified in this collection are the 8th Army Air Force, the 15th Army Air Force, and the 716th-719th bomber squadrons.

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...

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This collection relates to Morris L. Horowitz who served in the U.S. Army with the 669th Military Police Escort Guard Company during World War II in Europe. He was a Jewish-American soldier. The collection contains two unit group photographs.

Scope and Contents The Hurtis "Jack" Lowell Enlow papers consist of a diary and various documents relating to his service as an ambulance driver for the 482nd Medical Collection Company. Sergeant Enlow's diary illustrates what life was like as an ambulance driver during the war. He describes in detail the casualties he witnessed, fighting during the Battle of the Bulge, traveling through Europe, basic training, prisoners of war, and the Buchenwald concentration camp. While some descriptions are graphic, they depict the true nature of the war. His documents include photographs taken at Buchenwald, basic training notice, a German train ticket, German advertisement, one Victory Mail letter, post-war customs...

Scope and Contents This collection relates to Sergeant William "Bill" W. Huston who served in the 448th Bomber Group, 713th Bomb Squadron US Army Air Force in the European Theater of Operation. This collection also relates to John Robert Huston who served in the U.S. Army in field artillery and gun battery regiments. In addition to the letters, the collection contains a description of Bill Huston, escape from Switzerland, his Air medal citation, a history of the 8th Air Force titled "Target Germany," and a 1942 picture book of Scott Air Field in Illinois, the Huston mother's ration booklet, several photographs of Bill Huston at Scott Field, and a safe-conduct pass issued to Bill Huston by the French...

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The Edwin Ivy papers illustrate 2nd Lieutenant Ivy's service in the Army Air Corps in the 485th Heavy Bombardment Group, 831st Squadron, from 1942-1945 in Italy, France, and Austria where he was shot down and became a prisoner of war in Stalag Luft III. Ivy's oral history encompasses the majority of his collection and provides detail of his military training, time spent in the Army Air Corps, as a prisoner of war, and being discharged. His papers also include the first chapter of Old Man in a Baseball Cap by Fred Rochlin. The chapter describes the significance of remembering the past and passing down experiences to others.

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This collection of letters written by Mrs. Harriet Jacobs relates to her time stationed with her U.S. Navy husband in Bremerhaven, Germany after World War II, from 1947-1948. Also included is a "scratchcard" made in 1942 for American civilians to "keep score" of each sunk ship of the Japanese Navy.

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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.

Scope and Contents This World War II collection relates to Sgt. James H. Vander Laan, who served in the United States Army Air Force and was assigned to the 511th bomber squadron in the 351st Bombardment Group. During his service, he trained as a ball-turret gunner and radio operator on a B-17 bomber. The collection consists of documents, letters, photographs, and memorabilia. The documents detail where James H. VanderLaan was stationed, inducted and discharged from service. The letters from James H. Vander Laan are addressed from Germany during his time as a Prisoner of War and are dated from November 7, 1943-November 5, 1944. The photographs are of James H. Vander Laan with his wife Marion Madeley and a...

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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 This collection relates to John C. Henning who served in the Eighth Air Force, Second Air Division, 14th Combat Wing, 392nd Heavy Bombardment Group, 578th Squadron at Station #18 at Wendling, England during World War II. The collection contains privately published statistics for the 392nd Heavy Bombardment Group. The collection contains basic statistics for the 392nd Heavy Bombardment Group, diagrams of take-off patterns, a diagram of flight formations, a list of crew with their basic backgrounds and a description of their adjustment to each other, a list of missions followed by details of each into Germany from England [Ingolstadt, Pforzheim, Swinemunde, Gutersloh, Zossen...

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The collection of John Robert Denny contains an oral history transcript of an interview provided by the Reichelt Program for Oral History. Also included in the collection are newspapers, a map, a manuscript, letters, artifacts, fine art, documents, photographs, and ephemera. There are also letters from Denny to his parents.

Scope and Contents This collection relates to Joseph L. Cittadini who served as a Navigator with the 384th Bombardment Group.  The collection includes photographs, letters, and official documents from his time as a navigator with the US Army Air Corp and his time as a prisoner of war during World War II. Photographs include several of Cittadini with his crew of the "Goin' Dawg" and "Nutalls Nut House" B-17 bombers. Cittadini was a prisoner of war for a year after being shot down on a mission over Berlin and was held in several POW camps, but primarily in Stalag Luft III in Sagan, Germany. His account of this is told in detail in both a manuscript and an oral history...

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Emanuel Lamb served with the Heavy Weapons Company of the 89th Infantry Division. Collection includes letters from Emanuel and his brother Mandy during their time serving overseas, mainly discussing their daily lives, censorship, and treatment of prisoners of war, as well as a complete oral history transcript between Emanuel Lamb and an interviewer discussing his time in combat and his memories of the Battle of the Bulge. There are also newspaper clippings, photocopies of identification cards and ephemera included in the collection.

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This collection relates to Abraham Lifschitz, a Polish native, who served in the U.S. Army from 1942-1945 with the 100th Infantry Division in the European Theater. This collection contains military service records, wartime publications, religious items, and brief correspondence with his niece, Roberta, who donated this collection. Additionally, this collection contains a veteran hat and handkerchief from an unknown relative who served in World War I, as well as Lifschitz's unit patch, cigarette case, marksmanship badge, bracelet of French francs, dog-tags, and a banner commemorating his unit's history.

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Lt. Louis Goldbrum (U.S. Army, 1941-1947) was assigned to the 1st Aircraft Warning Company as the company photographer. This collection contains an oral history transcript where he discusses the evacuation of Bague, Philippines, where he was stationed, following the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. He was captured by the Japanese and remained a POW until January 1945.

Abstract Charlotte Mansfield enlisted in the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (W.A.A.C.) in 1942 to pursue work in photograph processing for the military. She was part of the first all-women graduating class from Lowry Field Photo School in Colorado, where she was trained to be a photo technician that developed primarily aerial shots in photography labs. Mansfield was stationed at various locations throughout the United States before being transferred to lab work overseas in England and Germany. By this time, W.A.A.C. had transitioned to Women’s Army Corps (W.A.C.). Throughout her military service, Mansfield took numerous personal photographs that featured her friends and surroundings. They provide...

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This collection relates to Melburn R. Mayfield who served in the U.S. Army in the European Theater of Operations. Mayfield served as a radio operator with Company C, 71st Infantry, 44th Infantry Division in France, Germany, and Austria. The collection contains a memoir and resume.

Scope and Contents This collection relates to James J. McGuire who served with the 102nd Infantry Division during World War II and was captured by the Germans in November 1944 near the Roer River. The collection includes documents related to prisoners-of-war, including special postage and protocols for sending letters to American POWs, special postage and protocols that James McGuire had to follow to send letters back to his family, and even an extremely detailed, multi-page set of instructions on how to order tobacco products for American soldiers in German POW camps. It also includes a ration book application, and a ration book itself.  Finally, it includes communications, telegrams, and letters, between...

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This collection is composed of the personal possessions of Capt. Melvin M. Rackleff, as they relate to the Second World War and subsequent postwar occupation of Germany as a U.S. Army doctor. Included in this collection are letters written to his wife, Hazel Rackleff, during and immediately following the war. Other ephemera from Rackleff's time overseas is included. Additionally, several books, many from his time during the occupation of Germany, are included. Four maps from the immediate post-war period show the division of Germany and town layouts. One box contains several photograph albums that originally belonged to a German family.