Military History Commons^™

Every Wreck Tells A Story, David Trojan

ERAU Prescott Aviation History Program

The Army Air Corps lost more than 7,100 aircraft in the United States to accidents during World War II. David Trojan is an aviation archeologist who has visited more than 100 such sites and seeks to educate the public by telling the unique story that each one has to tell.

Presbyterian Church (Bowling Green) - Veteran's History Project (Mss 277), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 277. Personal histories of members of the Presbyterian Church, Bowling Green, Kentucky who were veterans of World War II, the Korean War, the Cold War, the Vietnam War, Bosnia, the Persian Gulf War, or the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Includes biographical information and a narrative of the subject's military experiences. Audio interviews are also included on DVD.

Fishburn, Myra Jane, B. 1970 (Mss 280), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 280. Correspondence of Myra Jane Fishburn during her service in the Iraq War with the 76th U.S. Army Band. Includes photographs, Arabic language instruction materials, Arabic music CDs, and miscellaneous training and informational materials.

Phelps, Frank M. (Sc 2048), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and typescript for Manuscripts Small Collection 2048. Letter from Frank M. Phelps, serving in the 10th Wisconsin Infantry, to his uncle in Wisconsin. He describes his company's march to Bowling Green, Kentucky, the sight of dead horses, the shelling of Bowling Green, the destruction he found there, and the supplies the Confederates left behind.

Pitek, Michael Joseph, 1918-1945 (Sc 2047), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 2047. Certificates, forms and correspondence related to the military service of Michael J. Pitek in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. Also correspondence related to Pitek's death on 3 January 1945 and the burial of his remains in 1950.

Jordan, Robert (Sc 2045), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 2045. Letters (2) written by Robert Jordan, Vietnam, to his sisters Gail Jordan and Susan Jordan, Bowling Green, Kentucky. Mentions that he is in drill instructor training and likely to be stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky after his Vietnam service.

164th Infantry News: October 2009, 164th Infantry Association

164th Infantry Regiment Publications

October 2009 edition of the 164th Infantry News. A total of 40 pages, containing news articles, event notices, photographs, and personal memories from the veterans of the 164th Infantry Regiment.

The Octofoil, October/November/December 2009, Ninth Infantry Division Association

The Octofoil

The Octofoil is the offical publication of the Ninth Infantry Division Association, Inc., an organization formed by the officers and men of the 9th Infantry Division in order to perpetuate the memory of fallen comrades, preserve the esprit de corps of the Division, promote peace and serve as an information bureau about the 9th Infantry Division. The Association is made up of 9th Infantry veterans from WWII and Vietnam, spouses, widows and lineal descendants.

Jubal Early’S Trains: The Battle Of Lynchburg In Historical Memory, John G. Marks

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

On June 18, 1901, Charles Minor Blackford, brother of Battle of Lynchburg veteran Eugene Blackford, made a speech commemorating the thirty-five year anniversary of the Lynchburg Campaign. In the Battle of Lynchburg, as a part of the wider Shenandoah Valley campaign of 1864, General Jubal Early and the Confederate force defended the city from General David Hunter and the Union in a two-day engagement, marked mostly by skirmishing. Blackford stated in this speech that, “During the night of the 17th, a yard engine, with box cars attached, was run up and down the Southside Railroad, making as much noise as …

Buckner, Howard Chandler, 1896-1960 (Sc 2040), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Correspondence related to Howard Chandler Buckner's military service in the U.S. Army during World War I. Includes his identification card with photo and a notebook of information he recorded during training.

Hanson, Albert C., 1895-1976 (Sc 2038), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 2038. Letter, 20 January 1918, from Albert C. Hanson, serving as a private with the American Expeditionary Forces in France, to Edith Otting, Newport, Kentucky, He relays news of his family and writes of his eagerness to return home. The letterhead displays the logo of the American Y.M.C.A. and the phrase "On Active Service with the American Expeditionary Force.

Harlow, William Ross, B. 1946 (Sc 2023), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 2023. Notes taken by Barren County native William Ross Harlow during basic training at Lackland Air Force Base near San Antonio, Texas. He eventually served in the Vietnamese Conflict.

"Sie Kommen" (They're Coming), David Hamilton

ERAU Prescott Aviation History Program

The exciting story of the training, mission briefings and overall planning that lead to the success and failure of major troop carrier operations in World War II. Told by a C-47 pilot who flew ‘pathfinder’ missions on D-Day; supply missions for Bastogne; and for ‘Market Garden’, the invasion of Holland.

Hardcastle Family Papers (Sc 2026), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scans (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 2026. Papers of the Hardcastle family of Warren County, Kentucky: World War I discharge certificate for Robert F. Hardcastle; minister's return for the wedding of James Hardcastle and Ethel McPherson; tobacco allotment notice.

Burchfield, Evelyn (Day), 1896-1990 (Sc 1973), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 1973. Several letters written by Evelyn D. Burchfield, Davao, Philippines and a 190-page memoir of her life in the Philippines, chiefly during the World War II Japanese occupation; also includes an introduction (17 p.) to the memoir by friend Viola Crump.

Field, Robert Willis, B. 1841? (Sc 2016), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scans (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 2016. Discharge and pension papers of Robert Willis Field, a native of Shelby County, Kentucky who served in several units during the Civil War and was wounded at the Battle of Perryville. Includes correspondence to and from his attorneys.

Lincoln's America 2.0, Edward L. Ayers

History Faculty Publications

For most people at the time, far from battles or capitals, the Civil War arrived in long gray columns of text. A new system of telegraph stations, railroads, and press organizations spread words with unprecedented speed and in enormous quantity. Reports form the battlefield poured out in brief messages and long torrents, editorials commenting on every event and utterance. Even generals and presidents understood the shape and meaning of the Civil War through print.

Bratcher, John W., 1834-1920 (Sc 2012), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 2012. Discharge and pension papers for John W. Bratcher, who served in Company H, 35th Regiment of Kentucky Mounted Infantry during the Civil War.

Carosella, Roland Michael, 1920-2005 (Sc 2015), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 2015. Letter from Roland M. Carosella, a U.S. Army private stationed at Fort Knox, Kentucky to his girlfriend, Marie Marzo, Buffalo, New York. He complains about a cancelled furlough and comments on mutual friends and Army life. Letter is on illustrated stationery that depicts scenes at Fort Knox. The envelope features an American flag with troops standing at attention.

Covert, Craig H., B. 1965 (Sc 1990), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 1990. Correspondence of Craig H. Covert while serving in Iraq War from January to May 2004. As a member of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) Close Protection Team based in Basra, Iraq, Covert provided protective support to CPA South Administrator Patrick M. Nixon.

South Pacific Destroyers: The United States Navy And The Challenges Of Night Surface Combat In The Solomons Islands During World War Ii., Johnny Hampton Spence

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

During the South Pacific campaigns of World War II, the United States Navy faced a formidable challenge in waging nighttime surface battles against the Japanese Navy. In a war that emphasized the carrier and battleship, the little destroyer became a key player in these actions. By studying this campaign from the perspective of the destroyers, three key factors emerge that allowed the Americans to achieve victory: innovation in tactics, adaption of technology, and efficient use of resources.

The research for the thesis was based upon action reports, oral histories, and other documents obtained from the National Archives, Naval War College, …

Polston, James T. (Sc 1952), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 1952. Letters (5) from James "Todd" Polston to his mother Janet Polston in Jamestown, Kentucky, while serving in the Persian Gulf War. Includes two copies of "Faithful and True Command Letter," the 4th Battalion 5th Field Artillery newsletter sent to military families.

Steele, Henry N., 1833-1865 (Sc 2309), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and typescript (click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 2309. Diary kept by Confederate Henry N. Steele, a second lieutenant serving in the Warren Light Artillery, Warren County, Mississippi, from 17 August 1861 to 31 December 1861. Brief entries discuss troop movements and skirmishes in Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, and especially southcentral Kentucky. He makes more in-depth comments about a skirmish at Woodsonville, Hart County, Kentucky on 17 December 1861.

Logan County, Kentucky - Red Cross (Sc 1957), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 1957. Chiefly letters from U.S. soldiers stationed in Afghanistan thanking the Logan County, Kentucky Red Cross for the items they provided that were distributed to military personnel stationed there.

Buchanan, John, 1869-1965 (Sc 1981), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 1981. Letter from John Buchanan, Louisville, Kentucky, to Allan M. Trout of the Louisville Courier-Journal relating to Colonel J. Stoddard Johnston's claim to have killed Tecumseh.

Jett, Oswald G., 1917-2003 (Mss 264), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 264. Oswald G. Jett's unpublished World War II memoir "As I Saw the War." It relates the Hancock County native's experience as a member of a litter platoon and as an ambulance driver in North Africa and Italy. Includes an obituary, magazine article by Jett, and photo.

Stickles, Arndt Mathis, 1872-1968 (Mss 209), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Correspondence, both personal and professional, as well as research material related to books and articles published by Stickles, a native of Indiana and a history professor at Western Kentucky University from 1908 to 1954. His most popular book was "Simon Bolivar Buckner: Borderland Knight."

Review Of The Book The Great Patriotic War Of The Soviet Union, 1941-45: A Documentary Reader, John A. Drobnicki

Publications and Research

Review of the book The great patriotic war of the Soviet Union, 1941-45: A documentary reader.

Spiller, Robert Ernest, 1928-2018 (Sc 1968), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 1968. Letter to Colonel Robert E. Spiller from Captain Roy G. Henson replying to his Christmas greeting and describing U.S. military preparations for Operation Desert Storm. Includes copy of Bowling Green, Kentucky Daily News article reporting on service branches' roles in upcoming Persian Gulf War.

Merritt, Dayton L., B. 1947 (Sc 1967), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 1967. Letters Dayton l. Merritt wrote to his sister, Judy Merritt, from Vietnam, mainly concerning family news; letters written to Merritt from soldiers during the Persian Gulf War and one of his replies; 1991 letters by Merritt to the "Kentucky Post" related to the "Vietnam syndrome."