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Paul and Leonard Gordy collection, 1946-2012, Date acquired: 07/23/2015, Date accessioned: 2020-06-08

 

Summary

Creator:
Gordy, Paul, 1922-2016
Gordy, Marion Leonard, 1917-2012
Extent:
1 Linear Feet 2 half boxes
1 folders
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[Title of Item], [Date of Item], [Box and Folder number], Paul and Leonard Gordy collection, Special Collections & Archives, Florida State University Libraries, Tallahassee, Florida. https://purl.lib.fsu.edu/fa/02-15-1931

Background

Scope and content:

This collection consists of published material, newspaper clippings, interviews, and published unit histories, collected by the Gordy brothers about their wartime experience. Both brothers served in the U.S. Army Air Corps and as POWs in German camps.

Biographical / historical:

Paul Gordy was born April 15, 1922, in Cusseta, GA, to Curt and Verna Gordy. In 1925, his family moved to Florida and settled in Gainesville, FL. Gordy graduated high school and then began college at the University of Florida. In 1942, he enlisted in the Army Air Force where he was trained as a B-17 Pilot, eventually rising to the rank of second lieutenant in the 8th Air Force with the 384th Heavy Bombardment Group based in England. In July 1943, Paul Gordy was shot down and incarcerated while returning from a mission over Kiel, Germany, ending up in the North Sea in a raft with other US Airmen. Eventually, Paul was Incarcerated by the Germans and sent to Stalag Luft III at Sagan, Germany. This POW camp was made famous in the movie "The Great Escape." 

Acquisition information:
This collection was donated by Paul Gordy. The collection was acquired by the Institute on World War II and the Human Experience on July 23, 2015.
Custodial history:

Transferred from the Institute on World War II and the Human Experience to FSU Libraries Special Collections & Archives in July 2022.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

This collection is open to all researchers.

This collection is in an offsite storage location. Please contact lib-specialcollections@fsu.edu with requests for access or for more information.

Terms of access:

All requests for permission to quote, publish, broadcast or otherwise reproduce from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Associate Dean for Special Collections & Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Florida State University Libraries as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.

Preferred citation:

[Title of Item], [Date of Item], [Box and Folder number], Paul and Leonard Gordy collection, Special Collections & Archives, Florida State University Libraries, Tallahassee, Florida. https://purl.lib.fsu.edu/fa/02-15-1931

Location of this collection:
116 Honors Way
Tallahassee
FL
32306-2047
USA