Archival Collections

The collection of Alvin Dinsmore White consists of three letters and a V-mail written by Army officer Jim White of the 42nd "Rainbow" Infantry Division during World War II.  Also, in the collection is a news article and email describing his two other family members' actions during the war. Fort Benning, Georgia, and Rotenberg, Austria are the two discernible locations where Jim wrote his letters.

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 relates to Everett Melvin O'Brien who served as a 1st Lieutenant with the 603rd Quartermaster Graves Registration Company in the European Theater during World War II. The collection contains photographs from O'Brien's service in Graves Registration in the U.S., France, Belgium, and Germany which include killed in action U.S. soldiers and graves. Photographs of the concentration camp at Dachau are also included.

The Frank Facente transcript describes medic Frank Facente's service in the 4th Medical Battalion, 4th Infantry Division, as a part of the United States Army during World War II. Facente participated in the landing at Normandy, attacking the Siegfried Line, Battle of Huertgen Forest, Battle of the Bulge, and visiting the concentration camp at Dachau.

This collection relates to Major James J. McFarland who served with Headquarters, 59th Medical Battalion as a physician in the European Theater of Operations during World War II. The collection contains letters written by McFarland to his future wife Joy McFarlane.

The James R. Pemberton oral history interview transcript includes his time as a sergeant in the 103rd Infantry Division, 410th Regiment, Company K, 3rd Platoon, 3rd Squadron. He served as an engineer in France, Germany, and Austria from 1943-1945 and participated at D-Day and Battle of the Bulge. He documents his experiences during the war in regards to his military training, losing friends, taking German prisoners, how he earned his Bronze Star Medal, specific events in which he participated, and his pre/post-war activities.

This collection relates to Staff Sergeant Johnson Wood's experiences during World War II as a machine gunner in the 100th Infantry Division, 398th Regiment, Company K. His papers include a lengthy and detailed oral history transcript, poems, and a short manuscript. These materials focus on his actions and thoughts during the war, as well as World War II in public memory and his personal relationships with friends and family.

The Paul K. Dougherty Collection includes photographs, documents, and various artifacts Dougherty obtained while in Germany. His collection contains rare original German propaganda publications such as Deutschland Erwach and Adolf Hitler. Also included in the collection is a personal photograph album that belonged to Nazi official and founder of the anti-Semitic newspaper Der Stürmer, Julius Streicher. Other items included are Nazi Party flags/fabrics, Paul K. Dougherty's camera, and camera accessories.

Private Ralph Chester Lapham served with the 116th Evacuation Hospital during World War II in the European Theater of Operations. Chester assisted with providing care for former prisoners of Dachau concentration camp after the camp's liberation. The collection contains photographs of the camp and letters describing the unit's work setting up a hospital at Dachau and a Typhus epidemic.

The Sergeant Robert L. Wilson transcript describes his experiences as a truck driver in the 63rd Infantry Division in France and Germany during World War II.