Collections

This collection mostly consists of Dutch language civil and military administrative documents from the career of André Lauwrensius van Assenderp, who was a Dutch colonial administrator in the Netherlands East Indies (Indonesia) and Suriname from 1932-1946. Some documents date from WWII and its immediate aftermath 1) when André served in Suriname from November 1941 to November 1943 as the District Commissioner and Commissioner of Police in Paramaribo, the colony's capital, and 2) when he served in the Netherlands East Indies from April 1944 to November 1946 as an assistant-resident and military administrator in the Netherlands Indies Civil Administration (NICA) and the Netherlands Indies Army (KNIL). Photographs include: Netherlands Indies Government Information Service (NIGIS) photos of Merauke, Dutch New Guinea (1944-1945) and the Allied invasion of Balikpapan, Dutch Borneo (July 1945), as well as personal photos of André, his American wife Carol Johnson van Assenderp, and their children. Artifacts include André's Royal Netherlands Indies Army (KNIL) officer's dress uniform with hat and ceremonial sword, a WWII Japanese sword, a sword machete, a British pith helmet, individual portrait paintings of André and Carol, and Carol's hollow chain Javanese bracelets. The collection also has André's KNIL military training booklets, Carol's written recollections of their first years in the NEI, and personal letters from family members in Holland (1940 and 1947) and the US. There are also papers from André's teaching career at the Florida State University (1949-1958).

This collection includes letters written to Arnold Busch, a basketball coach for Calvary Methodist Church in Lakewood, Ohio, by the students he previously coached. Whether drafted or enlisted, many of the men kept up a correspondence with Busch throughout the war years. This collection also includes Calvary Church newsletters and pamphlets, pamphlets regarding persons registered for service, ration books and other rationing documents, and letters returned to Busch because their recipients were MIA, deceased, or relocated. Also included are photographs of Calvary Church activities on the Homefront, the basketball team, and the Calvary Church's V-J Day service as well as a copy of an article in which the photograph was featured.

This collection contains a Treasure Scrap Book with clipped newspaper articles related to the start of World War II and a grade school assignment of a crayon colored map of Europe in 1939 after the start of the war.

Cecil Blumenstein (served 1943-1945) discusses his experiences in the 13th Armored Division in Germany in the winter and spring of 1945. Blumenstein was captured and spent a brief period of time in a POW camp before being liberated and sent back to the front. He fought in several engagements. This collection consists of an interview transcript.

This collection includes photographs and letters from the military career of Clifford Kenneth Dodd, who served in the Army Corps of Engineering during WWII. Included are official National Park Service photographs of various generals, diplomats, historic events, and Washington, D.C. Also included are photographs from Dodd's military time from basic training to his time in the Philippines. The included letters are correspondence from Dodd to his mother Marion F. Dodd. Also included are photographs from Frank Joseph Kelley, of Guam reconstruction.

Deborah Gierach's collection of photographs were taken by her late father-in-law (no name given), a B-17 pilot in Europe during the Second World War. The collection consists of scanning from three photograph albums (in German) compiled and produced for the Nazi government as a means to show what the Third Reich was doing during the war. Subjects include Nazi rallies, Adolf Hitler, Heinrich Himmler, Hermann Goering, soldiers, military vehicles, as well as Hitler playing with children and socializing with others. Captions are in German. Organized month to month for separate calendar years of 1939, 1940, 1942.

This collection features memorabilia, photographs, and documents spanning two generations of the Llaneza and Llaneras families, beginning with Delfin Llaneza, Sr. and Miguel Llaneras. The bulk of the materials, however, pertain to Delphin Jr. Llaneza and his wife, Violet Marie Llaneras Hagler Llaneza, both natives of Ybor City who served in the military during World War II.

This collection relates to storekeeper first class Edith Houghton who served in the Navy WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) and was a baseball player. This collection contains an interview transcript of Houghton and newspaper clippings related to her baseball tour in Japan in the 1920s.

This collection relates to former Florida State University History professor Edward Davis Wynot, items are from his personal collection. The collection contains multi-media items about World War II including VHS sets and DVDs.  This collection also includes a World War I helmet.