Collections

Alan May served as a gunner on a B-24 Bomber with the 451st Bomb Group during World War II in Italy and was shot down during a mission to Ploesti, Romania, and became a POW.  May was awarded the Purple Heart, Air Medals, 2 Presidential Unit Citations, and the Distinguished Flying Cross. Included in this collection is a footnoted manuscript diary of missions.

This family collection relates to Technician 4th Grade Sergeants Claude B. Shook, 207th Field Artillery Battalion, and Arthur B. Benson, 705th Tank Destroyer Battalion,  who were brother in laws and both served in the U.S. Army during World War II in the European Theater. Arthur B. Benson was killed in action on August 14, 1944. The collection contains letters, photograph negatives, a unit newsletter, ephemera, and diary.

This collection consists of photographs, personal papers and personal memorabilia belonging to Carl Fessel, a member of the United States Army Air Force who served in the 570th Squadron of the 390th Bomb Group of the 8th Air Force in Europe from February of 1944 to April of 1945. Papers include a certificate of honorable discharge issued by the U.S. Army, while photographs include a picture of Fessel in uniform for a bombing mission and a contemporary map of Europe highlighting the prison camp at which Fessel was held as a prisoner of war. Personal memorabilia include membership cards titled "Life Membership: American Ex-Prisoners of War."

First Sergeant Charles H. Martin Served with the 3848th Quartermaster Truck Company in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater for 16 months as a clerk. The collection includes Martin's three honorable discharge certificates, Enlisted Reserve Corps Qualification and Availability Questionnaire, and Separation Qualification Record. Also within this collection is Martin's personal copy of photograph album "A Yank's Memories of Calcutta" by Clyde Waddell.

Eugene S. Brown served as a member of the 78th Infantry Division in the European Theater during World War II. He served from 1943-1946. His unit arrived in France in November of 1944. He performed duties as a runner and a jeep driver for his unit. This collection contains a transcript from an interview conducted June 7, 2000.

This collection includes 17 articles, which all pertain to either Francis Yonkin or the 11th Armored Division/3rd Army during World War II as they moved through Europe following the invasion of Normandy during World War II. Also included are 20 photographs, which include some of Francis Yonkin, and also prints of Nazi officers (in Paris at restaurants), and also photographs of tanks and the 11th Armored, as well as stock photographs of General Eisenhower, Churchill, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt (possibly from the Tehran Conference).

This collection relates to Staff Sergeant Charles R. Gentges who served with the 34th Infantry Division in the North African and Italian campaigns during World War II. He was awarded the Purple Heart Medal with two oak leaf clusters and the Bronze Star Medal. The collection also relates Charles R. Gentges' wife Florence, and daughter, Mary Elizabeth Gentges.

This collection relates to Private First Class Harry W. Schmeltzer who served with the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, in the European Theater during World War II. Schmeltzer was killed in action on June 10, 1944 in Normandy, France and awarded the Purple Heart Medal. The collection contains a memoir about Schmeltzer's death.

The materials in this collection document the experiences of Helen Toles Buffington, a young woman growing up during World War II, as well as the experiences of Herman Buffington, who served with the 96th Infantry Division as a combat soldier who fought in the Battle of Okinawa.

This collection relates to Isadore S. Jachman and his service in the Army in the European Theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor after defending the town of Flamierge in Belgium from a German attack on January 4, 1945. The collection contains a photocopy of the posthumously received Medal of Honor certificate and a document from the White House explaining the incident for which Jachman received the award. Both the certificate and document are signed by President Harry Truman. The collection also includes a list of medals received by Jachman related to this collection that are now at the National Museum of American Jewish Military History.