Collections

Typed autobiographical sketch of Bob Taggart, addressed to "My Dear Jerry." Contains reminiscences of Florida during the 1920s and his acquaintance with Jerry Willams Carter. Letter also covers his life in Texas as a boy and his many adventures throughout his varied careers as a telegraph operator, sailor, soldier, farmer and salesman. Taggart also goes in depth about his experiences serving in both World Wars. 61 pages.

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.

This collection relates to Calvin T. Webb who served as a radio operator in the U.S. Merchant Marines during World War II in Boston, MA, and Catalina Island, CA, prior to serving aboard merchant ships in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans until December of 1946. The collection contains materials related to memory which includes: American Merchant Marine Veterans AMMV Magazine, Winter 2012/2013, Spring 2013, Summer 2013, and Winter 2013/2014; 2002 reprint of The United States Merchant Marine at War; November 5, 2006, The Salt Lake Tribune/Deseret Morning News, "A Tribute To Veterans" advertising supplement newspaper; and 2 Just Compensation Committee Merchant Marines lobbying advertisement postcards.

The Candace P. Crim Barr Collection includes 6 photographs that depict Fort Lauderdale sports teams in 1915 and 1921, a photograph of H. Crim's grocery store on South Andrews Avenue, and a photograph of an event involving the Broward County War Bond Drive during World War II. It also includes a program for the Fort Lauderdale High School Classes of 1916-1938 Reunion on March 26, 1988 and a 1965 newspaper clipping about the first graduating class of 1915 from Fort Lauderdale High School.

This World War II collection relates to First Lieutenant Carl Johnson and his wife Marion Bennett Johnson and includes various letters, photographs, telegrams, cards, documents, and memorabilia. Carl's letters to Marion comprise the bulk of the collection and detail his college experiences as well as his training and overseas military experience as a United States Marine Corps officer during and after the war. During his career as a Marine, he was stationed at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, then went to San Francisco to start his voyage in the Pacific. He went to Pearl Harbor, Guam, and Okinawa before arriving in China where he served as a Commanding Officer. Marion's letters to Carl highlight her experiences on the home front during and after the war.

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."

The papers of Carl Lavin contains a transcript provided by the Reichelt Program for Oral History. Carl Lavin served in the U.S. Army from 1943 to 1946 as an infantryman in the European Theatre of Operations with the 69th Infantry Division. He operated a Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) in the advance across Western Europe in 1944 to 1945, and he relates numerous anecdotes from his combat experiences.

This collection relates to Carl Lyren who served in the United States Marine Corps in 2nd Marine Division the Pacific Theater. The materials of this collection are made up of maps, unclassified documents from both Japanese and U.S. forces, books, letters, interviews with veterans, photographs, newspaper clippings, and personal notes made by Carl Lyren in his research in writing on the battle of Peleliu, also in this collection is the original manuscript of the publication Dogged Courage: The Struggle for Peleliu, 1944.

This collection includes 2 American knitting pamphlets from between 1943 and 1945, titled "Knit for Victory" and "Practical, Warm Hand Knits for Service Men." Continued from World War I, the "Knit for Victory" campaign emphasized the contributions women on the homefront could make to the war effort. Pamphlets of patterns like these were available to provide instructions for women to knit socks, sweaters, hats, and other essentials to help soldiers stay warm overseas.