History Commons^™

Sexton, Edward Vernon, 1925-2007 (Sc 1825), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 1825. Documents, news clippings, ephemera, and correspondence related to Edward Vernon Sexton's military service in Word War II.

Thompson, James Gaydon (Sc 1824), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 1824. Small notebook containing advice on military tactics and survival written by James Gaydon Thompson for a cousin, John Rye. The notebook is not dated, but Thompson mentions the Battle of Iwo Jima.

Bushnell General Military Hospital And The Community Of Brigham City, Utah During World War Ii, Andrea Kaye Carter

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Bushnell General Military Hospital was an Army World War II hospital in Brigham City, Utah from August 1942 to June 1946. It specialized in treating amputations, maxillofacial surgery, neuropsychiatric conditions, and tropical diseases. It was also one of the first hospitals to experimentally use penicillin. Bushnell was a regional facility for wounded solders from the Mountain States that provided quality medical care to patients. The community of Brigham City and the citizens of other Northern Utah communities were an integral part of the success of Bushnell. Citizens donated time, supplies, and money to support the facility and to assist in …

Shrewsbury, Ralph Damon, 1919-1998 (Sc 1815), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 1815. Letters from Ralph Damon Shrewsbury and his future bride, Aline Lanier, to his mother Grace Snider Shrewsbury of Caneyville, Kentucky, related to their upcoming marriage. Also, reassuring letter from Shrewsbury after he had been reported as missing in action, and news clippings related to his World War II service.

Sharp, James Willard, 1921-1975 (Sc 1814), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and scans (Click on "Additional Files below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 1814. World War II letter, 19 January 1943, from James W. Sharp, San Francisco, California to his parents in Utica, Daviess County, Kentucky; includes 1943 letters to his mother from the wives of other servicemen.

Interview With James Leary, October 18, 2008, James Leary, Sierra R. Green

Oral Histories

James Leary was interviewed on October 18, 2008, by Sierra Green about his experiences during World War II.

Course Information:

• Course Title: HIST 300: Historical Method
• Academic Term: Fall 2008
• Course Instructor: Dr. Michael J. Birkner '72

Collection Note: This oral history was selected from the Oral History Collection maintained by Special Collections & College Archives. Transcripts are available for browsing in the Special Collections Reading Room, 4^th floor, Musselman Library. GettDigital contains the complete listing of oral histories done from 1978 to the present. To view this list and to access selected digital versions please visit -- https://gettysburg.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16274coll2/search

Allen, William Hugh, 1906-1990 (Sc 1687), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and scans (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 1687. Two letters, January 1945, from William Hugh Allen in France to his brother Gillys W. Allen in Henderson, Kentucky in which he describes his participation in the Battle of the Bulge. Includes a copy of Gillys W. Allen's 1954 obituary and other family data and photos.

Mayer, Jacob Merritt, 1905-1984 (Sc 1774), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 1774. World War II letters from Jacob Merritt Mayer, serving as a doctor with U.S. forces in Europe, to his sister Marthanna (Mayer) Melton, Hodgenville, Larue County, Kentucky, and to his parents in Hazel, Calloway County, Kentucky.

Mayer, James Andrew (Sc 1775), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 1775. World War II letters from James Andrew Mayer, serving as a doctor with U.S. forces in the Pacific, to his sister Marthanna (Mayer) Melton, Hodgenville, Larue County, Kentucky and to his parents in Hazel, Calloway County, Kentucky.

Cash, James H. (Sc 1776), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 1776. Two letters, 13 & 25 September 1944, from James H. Cash, Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky to Margaret Kennedy, Atlanta, Georgia. He briefly describes camp life and writes that he will soon be transferred to Ft. Benning, Georgia and hopes to visit her.

Lewis, Norman Victor, 1917-1999 (Mss 215), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and correspondence address list (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Collection 215. This collection consists almost exclusively of letters sent from Lewis to his girlfriend and subsequent wife, Bettie Gibson (Phelps) Lewis. They include courtship letters, correspondence documenting Lewis's World War II service and military life, and letters containing information about family matters.

Flaherty, Terah Leonard, 1914-1983 (Sc 1750), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 1750. Forms and correspondence related to Terah Leonard Flaherty's World War II service in the U.S. Army; his wife's Red Cross certificate; and a humorous "Confederate" army commission.

Frashure, Sherri (Troutman) (Mss 172), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 172. Oral interviews, including cassette tapes and transcripts, with sixteen World War II veterans conducted by Frashure for her Honors thesis at Western Kentucky University. Also includes her completed paper titled: "Kentuckians at War: A Soldier's Perspective of World War II."

Moore, Earl Austin, 1892-1978 (Sc 1747), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 1747. Poem "Graduations" written by Earl Austin Moore, Western Kentucky State Teachers College faculty member, in memory of a young American pilot killed in a bomber crash.

Cole, Marshall (Sc 1726), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and scans (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 1726. Copies of two letters from Marshall Cole, one dated 25 December 1944, written to family members while he was serving in the military during World War II. He describes his Christmas in the Philippines and his return to a base in the United States.

Franks Collection (Sc 1731), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 1731. World War II military correspondence, chiefly Christmas greetings, to Union county, Kentucky native Harold Franks. Also certificates, news clippings, photos, and funeral notices of Franks and his wife Anna Louise (Schaaf) Franks. Includes an unusual rolled letter sent to Franks containing notes from 64 Morganfield, Kentucky citizens.

Akers, Sammie D., 1918-2002 (Mss 229), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 229. This collection consists almost exclusively of World War II correspondence of Sammie D. Akers, a Logan County, Kentucky native. Approximately two-thirds of the correspondence is with his mother, Betty A. Akers, with whom he discusses the home farm, potential land purchases, church news, and local events.

The Construction Of Airfields During The New Georgia Campaign Of 1943-44: Lessons Learned By The United States Naval Construction Battalions., Joseph Christopher Zimmerman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Prevalent depictions of United States Naval Construction Battalions (Seabees) were engendered by John Wayne in The Fighting Seabees and the musical, South Pacific. While capturing the ingenious determination that birthed their motto '˜Can Do', these incomplete pictures don't portray the complexity of construction under combat conditions in a harshly unforgiving and demanding environment.

The Seabee's first combat landing was New Georgia. In six months, these battalions built five airfields, granting Allied forces air superiority over the Solomon Islands and Rabaul. Battalion records stored at the Naval Facilities Command Archives, Port Heuneme, California, combined with documents from the National Archives, …

Mcgown, Thomas Neal, 1909-1966 (Sc 1708), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 1708. Post cards, Christmas card, and telegram from Thomas Neal McGown, serving with the U.S. Marine Corps, to his wife Marguerite, Bowling Green, Kentucky. Includes other items and news clippings related to his World War II service.

Duncan-Ponvert, Annie Franchot, 2001-2004 (Mss 218), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 218. Duncan-Ponvert's thesis "The Stories of Eleven Who Served in World War II from Lewisburg, Kentucky" and the cassette tapes of the interviews she conducted as part of the research.

Civil Defense - Ordinance - Kentucky, [1943] (Sc 1643), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 1643. Template for the use of municipal governments in adopting a Civil Defense ordinance in Kentucky during World War II.

Stone, Eva Mae, 1918-1977 (Sc 1639), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and scans (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 1639. Letters sent to Bowling Green, Kentucky native Eva Mae Stone by cousins George and Charles Shanks and friend John Mullins who were serving in the armed forces during World War II. Includes photograph of Mullins in uniform standing before the U.S. Capitol.

Kleiderer, Charles W., D. 1999 (Sc 1628), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 1628. Letters from Henderson native Charles W. Kleiderer, Silver Spring, Maryland to his aunt Mary Moore, Bowling Green related to his development of the Variable Time (VT) Fuze. Accompanying photographs show how this fuze, used in artillery shells, contributed to the Allied vicotry in World War II.

Ms-094: Letters Of John Duttera, World War Ii, Kayla Lenkner

All Finding Aids

This collection consists primarily of correspondence received by Ruth Feiser during World War II from John Duttera, Joseph E. Atland, and others.

Special Collections and College Archives Finding Aids are discovery tools used to describe and provide access to our holdings. Finding aids include historical and biographical information about each collection in addition to inventories of their content. More information about our collections can be found on our website https://www.gettysburg.edu/special-collections/collections/.

Interview No. 1624, J. Halbert Gambrell

Combined Interviews

In this interview, J. Halbert (“Hal”) Gambrell shares his memories of his colorful family, early El Paso, and his military experiences during both World War II and the Korean War. Born in El Paso in 1920, Gambrell entered this world in the family home due to his physician father’s decision to avoid local hospitals overflowing with Spanish Influenza patients. His father had recently returned from service in France during World War I; earlier he had served under General Jack “Black” Pershing during the latter’s 1916 punitive expedition into Mexico in Pershing’s ill-fated attempt to capture Pancho Villa. Gambrell continues to …

Interview No. 1637, Louis B. Mckee

Combined Interviews

Louis B. McKee is the son of Robert E. McKee, founder of the R. E. McKee General Contractors in El Paso, TX; he was born in El Paso in 1933; and graduated from Austin High School; he explains why he went to University of New Mexico, and studied civil engineering; he mentions completing Navy ROTC, being a Marine Corps Officer a few years; he recounts his family, working for the family’s construction company; he reveals why he later quit the company, disagreed with the direction of new non-family leadership that didn’t have the experience; he mentions the company was moved …

87th Depot Repair Squadron (Sc 1596), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 1596. Humorous skit prepared for the second anniversary of the 87th Deport Repair Squadron's formation, celebrated at the Enlisted Men's Club, Foggia, Italy.

Moss, C. Mcelroy, 1900-1965 (Sc 1583), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 1583. Letters, photos, and newspaper clippings documenting Moss's U.S. Navy career. Includes news clipping related to educator, Mary Dishman, and a news clipping about Moss's father John McKenzie Moss.

Hills, Sallie (Holland), 1875-1945 - Letters To (Sc 1598), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and scans (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 1598. World War II letters sent to Sallie Hills, Bowling Green, Kentucky, from her son Henry Hills, nephew and ward William Perry Stamps, Jr., and friend George L. Smith. Includes a silhouette of Stamps.

Brown, Claude M., 1905-1978 (Sc 1579), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of letters (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 1579. World War II letters from Kentucky native Claude M. Brown, stationed in Italy, to Elizabeth Propes, Louisville and Hodgenville, Kentucky. Letters to Brown from friend Ralph Hurley and Brown's 1945 travel itinerary from Italy to Kentucky.