United States History Commons^™

Ua94/5/6 Lucian Flora Student/Alumni Papers, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Scrapbook and memoirs created by alumni Lucian Flora of Smiths Grove, Kentucky of his activities as a soldier in World War II. Flora saw action through North Africa and Italy from 1941 to 1945.

Ua1c11/128 Lucian Flora Photo Collection, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Photographs and postcards removed from Lucian Flora's World War II scrapbook.

Perkins, John Casey, 1918-2010 (Mss 753), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid for Manuscripts Collection 753. Reports of the operations of the U.S. Army, Third Infantry Division in Italy, Sicily, France and Germany during World War II. Includes reports relating to the service of Lieutenant Colonel John C. Perkins of Bowling Green, Kentucky in the Third Signal Company. Also includes memoranda of surrender written by Nazi SS officer Otto Skorzeny, taken into custody by Perkins in Austria in May 1945 (Click on "Additional Files" below for scans).

272nd Army Field Artillery Battalion (Sc 3665), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and scans (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3665. Materials collected by Haskell Pedigo, a World War II veteran of the U.S. Army’s 272nd Field Artillery Battalion. Includes copies of reports of actions against the enemy, August 1944-June 1945; unit histories, 1944-1945, and other historical data and reminiscences; and reunion materials, lists of attendees, and memorial rolls.

Buckberry, Ray B., Jr., B. 1934 - Collector (Mss 688), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and digital scans for some files for Manuscripts Collection 688. Material collected by Bowling Green, Kentucky attorney, Ray B. Buckberry, Jr. for presentations he prepared about the history of grocery stores locally and nationally and about Operation Tiger, the practice battle for D-Day on Slapton Sands, Devon, England on 28 April 1944 during World War II.

Tichenor Collection (Mss 678), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 678. Correspondence, papers and photographs of the Tichenor family of McLean County, Kentucky, and related families, especially Cherry, Short, and Hutchison. Much relates to the home front during World War II during the Navy service of high school teacher Thomas Cherry Tichenor.

Evans, Ray Estil, 1913-1981 (Sc 3469), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid for Manuscripts Small Collection 3469. Military service records for Roy Estil "Sarge" Evans, a native of Warren County, Kentucky, who served in the U.S. Army during World War II. Included is a calendar from the "War Prisoner's Aid of the Young Men's Christian Association" in which he marked off the days he was imprisoned as a POW in a German stalag. (Click on "Additional Files" below for scan.) In pencil he wrote "Stalag Luft One Room Four" and marked off days in January - April of 1945. Also includes photocopies of two photographs in the Kentucky Library Research …

Buckberry, Ray B., Jr., B. 1934 (Sc 3446), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3446. “First Warren County Soldier to Die on D-Day,” a paper by Ray Buckberry describing known details of the death of Lieutenant James Lee Durham, Bowling Green, Kentucky on 6 June 1944 during the invasion of Normandy, France. A member of the 82nd Airborne Infantry Division, Durham participated in a nighttime parachute drop early on D-Day. Includes a photograph of Durham’s gravestone in Bowling Green’s Fairview Cemetery.

Wittman, Dorothy M., 1917-2010 (Sc 3438), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and scans (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3438. Materials related to 2nd Lieutenant Dorothy M. Wittman’s service as a U.S. Army nurse with the 32nd Station Hospital during World War II. Includes a letter to her parents in Canal Fulton, Ohio, from Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky describing a review of the 98th Infantry Division; photographs of her and fellow nurses; a nurses roster; meal tickets; and a whimsical “Dishonorable Discharge” from the Army. Also includes a medical history of the 32nd Station Hospital Unit written by Chief Nurse Helen W. Brammer.

Clagett, John Henry, 1916-1970 (Sc 3388), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3388. Christmas cards to WKU faculty member Frances Richards from student John H. Clagett. The cards reflect Clagett’s service at the U.S. Naval Academy and at sea. Includes a notice for Clagett’s novel Buckskin Cavalier, clippings about his novels, and a copy of “The Lantern,” his short story published in Collier’s magazine.

Borrone, Bert Joseph, Jr., 1919-1995 (Sc 3368), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3368. Prelude to Invasion,” two programs written by Sergeant Bert J. Borrone, Bowling Green, Kentucky, for the American Expeditionary Station News Bureau to be broadcast on 23 May and 30 May 1944. Borrone, then stationed in North Africa, details possible scenarios and tactical challenges for the highly anticipated Allied invasion of Europe, and expresses confidence in victory.

Minton, John Dean, Sr., 1921-2008 (Mss 660), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 660. Letters written by John D. Minton, Sr. to his brother, Layton Minton, while both were in military service during World War II. The collection also contains a small amount of Minton family correspondence and some vocational agriculture notebooks kept by the brothers while in high school.

Strahm Family Collection (Mss 655), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 655. Data, clippings and information about the Strahm family and related families. Most of the material relates to Franz J. Strahm, WKU music director from 1910-1941, and his son Victor H. Strahm’s career in military service. Includes photographs of Franz, Victor, and other family members.

Watson, Nancy Anne, 1924-2013 (Sc 3294), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3294. Letters, 9 and 15 June 1945, of Nancy Anne Watson, Louisville, Kentucky, to future husband A. Park Shaw, Jr. during his military service. She encloses her poem about the upcoming Kentucky Derby, and writes of her related social activities and wagers on the races. Her comments about a dinner with meat, and of using old clothes and cosmetics, allude to wartime shortages.

Stewart Family Letters (Sc 3263), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and scans (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3263. Letters to Charles T. Stewart, written by his mother in Cerulean, Kentucky and his wife in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, during his military service in World War II. His mother acknowledges receipt of his letter and a "wolf head souvenir," while his wife reports on life at home. She answers his question about members of another Stewart family and refers to Charles's recent comment about having children.

Miller, Carl Thomas, 1920-1997 (Sc 3201), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scans of correspondence (click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3201. Compact disc containing details of the life and World War II service of Carl T. Miller, a native of Breckinridge County, Kentucky, including the history of his Army unit, his letters (1941-1945), photographs, and images of his medals and other military honors. Also includes a 1995 interview of Miller on DVD discussing his World War II service, and associated newsreel clips.

Mcilvaine, William F., 1923-2019 (Sc 3172), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3172. Letter, 18 February 1944, of William F. McIlvaine to Pauline Purdue, Bowling Green, Kentucky. From Camp Polk, Louisiana, he writes flirtatiously, teasing her about her girlfriends and of visiting Kentucky to see her and not the “pretty horses.” The letterhead from Camp Polk includes depictions of Armored Forces equipment and operations.

Fox, Arthur Smith, 1920-1997 (Mss 624), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 624. Letters, clippings, photographs, programs and other records relating to the life of Muhlenberg County, Kentucky native and Hopkins County, Kentucky teacher Arthur S. Fox, especially his service in World War II. Includes genealogical data.

Carroll, Hillary Bellerby, 1908-1999 (Mss 615), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 615. World War II letters written by Hillary B. Carroll, while serving in the U.S. Army in The Philippines and Japan, to his wife Katherine “Kate” (Whallen) Carroll, in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Also includes some information and photos related to Carroll’s family.

Wedding Family Papers (Sc 3053), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid for Manuscripts Small Collection 3053. Miscellaneous papers of the Wedding family of Ohio County, Kentucky: “A Soldier’s Valentine,” a Spanish-American War-era poem by C. L. Wedding; clippings, including article about the poem and obituary of Denver E. Wedding; 1942 Hopkins County Rationing Board notice appointing Christine Wedding as a registrar; and 1942 letter to Christine Wedding from a serviceman’s wife regarding his departure overseas. For Spanish-American War related material in this collection, click on "Additional Files" below.

Mcilvoy, Daniel Barnard "Doc," Jr., 1912-1998 (Sc 3036), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3036. Materials relating to the World War II military service of Springfield, Kentucky native and Bowling Green physician Dr. Daniel B. McIlvoy in the U.S. Army Medical Corps. Includes narratives of his military career with the 82nd Airborne Division, his daughter’s account of a trip to sites in Normandy, France connected with her father, and clippings relating to a biography of McIlvoy by Michel DeTrez, published in 2004 as part of The Way We Were series (available in the Kentucky Library Research Collections; D769.348 505th.T76 2004). Also includes a photograph of McIlvoy’s grave …

Moore, Mary (Taylor) Leiper, 1885-1973 - Collector (Sc 2992), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 2992. Newspaper clippings, model press releases and other materials collected by Mary Leiper Moore, chairman of the publicity committee for a drive to recruit Warren County, Kentucky women for the Women’s Army Corps (WACs). Includes Moore’s letter to the commander of Louisville’s Bowman Field complaining of the Army’s poor planning of a publicity event held at Western Kentucky University on 12 November 1943.

Luthene G. Kimball (Sc 2976), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archive Project 2976. Letters sent from U.S. Army Sergeant Luthene G. Kimball to his soon to be fiancé and nurse, Jane Robertson, while he was stationed at Fort Knox, Kentucky, during World War II. He discusses their relationship, military life, and current events.

See also: SC 3111 "Robertson, Jane, 1925-2015"

Kerr, David Warren, 1922-1982 (Sc 2954), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 2954. Letter of David Kerr, 14-16 November 1944, to Frances Ann Wade, Hopkinsville, Kentucky. Writing from an undisclosed overseas location while serving in the armed forces, he describes his surroundings in general and his work on a painting detail. He also encloses a marksman’s medal (not included in this collection) and praises the athletic achievements of his hometown Ohio high school.

Hitler, Adolf, 1889-1945 - Letter To (Sc 2926), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 2926. “A Letter to Hitler” from “America,” handwritten on letterhead of The Armored Force, Fort Knox, Kentucky. The mocking letter describes in explicit verse what awaits Hitler when U.S. forces arrive in Berlin.

Givens, Wayne, 1905-1971 (Sc 2918), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 2918. U.S. Army discharge papers and certificate of Wayne Givens, Monroe County, Kentucky, 1945; photostat of death certificate of Wayne Givens, 1971. Also includes Statement of Personal history form of Givens’ wife, Mildred (Hagan) Givens, with data on education, employment, etc.

Jackson Family Letters (Sc 2883), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and scans (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 2883. V-mails to Aph P. Jackson, Eminence, Kentucky from her sons, Eli O. Jackson and Laban P. Jackson, written during their military service in World War II. Laban comments on a new birth in the family, on news of German and Japanese atrocities, and on the domestic peace movement; Eli asks about their farm and requests some twists of chewing tobacco.

Harper Family Papers (Sc 1546), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 1546. Wartime correspondence between Private Alfred Harper and his wife Elizabeth W. (Montgomery) Harper. Harper, from Columbia, Kentucky was serving as a machine gunner with the 26th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division when he was killed in Belgium 25 November 1944. Includes telegrams and letters to his wife related to his death.

Murphy, William Lansing, 1926-1986 (Sc 2881), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 2881. Letter of William L. Murphy, written to his parents in Newport, Kentucky from Ascom City, Korea. Murphy, a U.S. Army sergeant, writes of his fellow servicemen, gifts he has sent, and a rumor of troops being sent home.

Ebelhar, Melissa (Sc 1262), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 1262. Paper, “The Fairy Belle,” written by Melissa Ebelhar for a WKU history class. She discusses the service of her grandfather, Lucian D. Keller, Owensboro, Kentucky, as a waist gunner in the 392^nd Air Force Division in Europe during World War II.