World War, 1939-1945 -- Soldiers' letters

Overview

Scrapbook by Betty Lou Allcock, resident of Elm Grove, Wheeling, WV. Includes correspondence, photographs, clippings, programs, greeting cards, etc. regarding World War II, Girl Scouts, Girl Reserves, Triadelphia High School, musical performances, and local news. Highlights include letters from soldiers before and during their deployment.

Overview Correspondence and genealogical information of Dorothy Jones Baughman gathered by her great niece Barbara Rasmussen. Dorothy Baughman was born in Doddridge County in October 1897, died in Morgantown in January 1979, and was buried in the Belington Fraternal Cemetery. These papers reflect the life of her family at the turn of the twentieth century in north central West Virginia. Correspondence between Dorothy and her father, her grandmother, and her husband form the bulk of the collection....

Overview Letters and greeting cards received by Harold L. Frankhauser of Parkersburg, West Virginia in 1942-1946 while serving the U.S. Navy in a medical detachment on the USS Chilton (APA-38) during World War II. The letters are from family and friends in Parkersburg, friends in the armed forces, and girl friends, reflecting a diverse range of home front experiences. There is an extensive series of letters from Lillian Tosker of New York, whom Harold Frankhauser married, which include numerous...

Overview Scrapbook and correspondence of Joseph "Bill" W. Parker of Fairmont, West Virginia, who served in World War II and attained the rank of captain. The scrapbook is a pre-made book titled "G.I've Been Around" and published by C. S. Hammond & Co. The cover of the book has been personalized with Parker's name. Parker filled out spaces in the book with his dates of service, locations, advancement and citations, and personal chronology. He also pasted photographs of himself and his wife into...

Overview

One manuscript letter, dated August 7, 1945, from Pfc. Kenneth Watters in the Philippines to his sweetheart, Ethel Lee Bell, of 686 Willey St., Morgantown, West Virginia.

Scope and Contents Melvin Harding Kimble (1920-1944) was born in Moundsville, West Virginia and served in the 5th Ranger Infantry Battalion during World War II on the Western Front of the European Theater. Kimble was killed in the Battle of the Bulge in 1944 and his body was returned to the United States for burial in 1948. The collection contains photographs of Kimble in military and civilian life, as well as photographs of his family and fellow soldiers. Some of the photographs are accompanied by...

Overview

Letters from Atkins while serving with the First Cavalry, U.S. Army. Atkins was stationed in Australia in 1943, his unit moving to New Guinea in January 1944, the Admiralty Islands in March 1944, and the Philippines in October 1944. He was wounded in the fight for Rizal Stadium in Manila. Letters deal with routine camp life and more rarely with battles in which the unit was engaged. After the war Atkins became a professor of journalism at West Virginia University.

Scope and Contents Letters, 1941-1944, authored by Private Ralph J. John of the 3rd Battalion, Headquarters Company, 112th Infantry, 28th Division. They document his experiences in the military, including training in the United States and time overseas when stationed in England prior to the invasion of France. He was killed in action near St. Lo, France on August 15, 1944, at the age of 30. Ralph John was a native of Mt. Morris, Pennsylvania. There are also family papers of his parents, including greeting...

Overview Reminiscence and transcripts of letters by T. Jack Carpenter regarding his World War II experiences. The reminiscence of six pages, written in 1998, chronicles in summary form the life of Jack Carpenter from 1940 to 1946, starting from his high school years in Middlebourne, West Virginia through 1946, the year he was discharged. The letters, dating from 1 May 1945 through 14 October 1946, document in detail his training at Camp Atterbury, Indiana, and Camp Livingston, Louisiana; trip...

Overview Two-hundred World War II letters from Private Wayne J. Chisler, a quartermaster, to his wife Elsie Pullman Chisler, both from Morgantown, West Virginia. Letters discuss camp life, entertainment (including music, movies, sports), and sentiments. Wayne Chisler went to boot camp at Fort Lee, Virginia in July to September of 1942, and then went to the embarkation center of Fort Lawton, Washington state in September, 1942. He was then sent to a base on Umnak, the easternmost island of the chain...