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Edwin Ivy papers, 1941-2000, Date acquired: 10/16/2002, bulk 1941-1946

 

Summary

Creator:
Ivy, Edwin, 1918-
Extent:
1 folders
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[Title of Item], [Date of Item], [Box and Folder number], Edwin Ivy Papers, Special Collections & Archives, Florida State University Libraries, Tallahassee, Florida. http://purl.fcla.edu/fsu/WWII_00_0725.

Background

Scope and content:

The Edwin Ivy papers illustrate 2nd Lieutenant Ivy's service in the Army Air Corps in the 485th Heavy Bombardment Group, 831st Squadron, from 1942-1945 in Italy, France, and Austria where he was shot down and became a prisoner of war in Stalag Luft III. Ivy's oral history encompasses the majority of his collection and provides detail of his military training, time spent in the Army Air Corps, as a prisoner of war, and being discharged. His papers also include the first chapter of Old Man in a Baseball Cap by Fred Rochlin. The chapter describes the significance of remembering the past and passing down experiences to others.

Biographical / historical:

Edwin Ivy was born in Waco, Texas on July 4, 1918, and grew up there. At the time of Pearl Harbor, Ivy was working for the War Department constructing Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas. As the war began he wanted to pilot planes and in preparation studied at Kelly Field in San Antonio. Unfortunately it did not work out so he turned to navigation instead. In 1943 he graduated from navigation school as a Second Lieutenant. Following graduation Ivy became a flight instructor at Kirkland Field in New Mexico but he wanted more. So he traveled to Lincoln, Nebraska for combat training with the 485th Heavy Bombardment Group and 831st Squadron in the Army Air Force. In April 1943 he and his unit traveled to Tunis, Tunisia before heading to Italy. He traveled throughout Italy on various missions before leaving to Lyon, France. After Lyon, he dropped bombs near the Ploesti oil fields in Romania (possibly Operation Tidal Wave; the time period and location matches up but Ivy does not specify any operation name).

On May 29, 1944, Ivy was over Vienna, Austria when his plane was shot down into enemy territory. Ivy and all his crew members safely parachuted out of the bailing aircraft and onto the soil. They surrendered to the Germans who took them to Stalag Luft III. He stayed there until December 1944 and then marched to Nuremberg and Moosberg, Germany where he was liberated in early May 1945. Once Ivy was liberated he stayed in Reims, France and returned to the United States at the end of 1945. A few months later he was discharged and worked for Charles Scribner's book publishing company in advertising and public relations in New York. He met his future wife there and later worked at Universal Atlas Cement Company.

Acquisition information:
Donated
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.

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], Edwin Ivy Papers, Special Collections & Archives, Florida State University Libraries, Tallahassee, Florida. http://purl.fcla.edu/fsu/WWII_00_0725.

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