Collections

Hy Wakstein was a Jewish American serviceman who reached the rank of Staff Sergeant with the 778th Anti-Aircraft-Automatic Weapons Battalion, Self Propelled, (served 1943-46) and discusses his experiences as an Army communications officer in the European theater of World War II in this oral history transcript. Wakstein participated in the Battle of the Bulge, and his division advanced further east into Germany than any other American division.

This collection relates to James W. George who served as a Chief Master Sergeant in the 9th U.S Army Air Force. Wilmot R. George was James George's brother and also served in the European Theater. He served as a Tech Sergeant and received a Silver Star. This collection contains a one-page handwritten summary of James George's military service and ten-page memoir of his brother Wilmont's service during the Second World War.

This collection relates to James W. Harrington who served with the 101st Airborne Division during World War II. This collection includes a manuscript entitled Return to Ville de Bastogne: A Time Remembered, which concerns the Battle for Bastogne, Belgium. This manuscript consists of a 10-page memoir of the Battle of the Bulge following Harrington's return visit to Bastogne 53 years later. He describes his division's encampment prior to the Battle of the Bulge. This manuscript is an exclusive Battle of the Bulge memoir. An additional page entitled "A Trek Remembered" is an account of a specific experience on December 17, 1944. It also includes photocopies of maps, insignia, ephemera, a copy of a certificate of discharge, a photocopy of a picture of Harrington in uniform, and a veteran's questionnaire.

Mario Joseph Patruno's collection includes a manuscript/oral history that covers his service in the 101st Airborne through his wounding in Operation Market Garden. The collection also includes three photographs, two of Patruno and one photograph taken inside Patruno's C-47 Transport on the night of 5 June 1944.

This collection relates to Stanley P. Koss who served as a paratrooper with the 101st Airborne Division during World War II. Koss participated in the battle for Bastogne, Belgium. The majority of this collection pertains to Stanley P. Koss's war bond tour of war production plants in New York and New Jersey as part of an effort to boost war worker morale. The collection includes military orders, itineraries, letters, photographs, and newspaper clippings related to this tour, as well as several souvenirs acquired during the trip. Also included are letters from Koss's pre-service employer, Christmas cards, and a telegram informing Koss's mother that Stanley's brother had been killed in action. The collection includes various post-war newspaper clippings, including a full copy of the VJ Day issue of the Chicago Herald-American.

This collection relates to Staff Sergeant William A. Kummerer who served with the 463rd Field Artillery Battalion, 101st Airborne Division during World War II.  The majority of this collection concerns the reunions of the 101st Airborne, 463rd Field Artillery Battalion, on the creation of the division shoulder patch.