FROM THE FRONT, WORLD WAR I
The collection of Captain Ralph Emerson Jones, U.S. Army 1st
Provisional Regiment consists of approximately 245 original letters
he sent to his wife-to-be, Josephine Thomas Jones during World
War I. The letters cover roughly a two-year period during which
Jones was stationed at various Army camps throughout the United
States as well as two bases in France. Jones married Josephine
Thomas in July 1918 and departed for France immediately following
the wedding. Much of the correspondence focuses on his relationship
with Josephine. He lovingly addresses his wife as "My dear
Life-time pal" or "My own dear sweet heart-wife" and frequently
signs his letters "Bubbling over with love for you." June
Gardner Jones, daughter-in-law of Ralph Emerson Jones, donated
this collection of letters.
ON ACTIVE SERVICE WITH THE AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY
FORCES
Between March 1918 and April 1919, Private First Class
Charles S. Lamb, 6th Division 1st Army, wrote eighty-five
letters and postcards to his mother, father, and other
relatives and friends while marching through the Argonne
and Ardennes Regions. These letters were discovered by
his heirs, and subsequently organized and transcribed
into a document, "Letters Home." They were donated
by his son George Lamb to the Veterans History Project.
The roads are sunken affairs pitted at the sides
with holes hastily dug and filled with straw and blankets,
invariably crested with a large pile of empty machine-gun
cartridges. German helmets, guns, bayonets, etc. were
strewn over the fields, while barbed wire (German heavy
stuff with three long barbs) lined the hills.
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Letter
from Charles S. Lamb
to his father, Charles Y. Lamb
December 8, 1918.
Page 2 - Page
3 - Page 4 - Page
5
Typed letter.
Charles S. Lamb Collection,
Veterans History Project (57)
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"Looks
like I'm the one to get the dickens for not writing."
James P. McNally to neighbor Mrs. James Wallace,
July 30, 1945.
Page 2 - Page
3
Holograph letter.
Caroline Wallace Collection,
Veterans History Project (58)
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FROM DOWN UNDER
Caroline Wallace, a housewife living in Philadelphia
corresponded with relatives, friends, and neighbors during
World War II. Mrs. Wallace donated her collection of
more than twenty-five letters, V-mails, and post cards
to the Veterans History Project.
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"MAY DAY IS LEI DAY IN HAWAII!"
The World War II Letters of Chaplain Maosao Yamada to
his wife document his war experiences. On May 1, 1944,
he wrote, "Dear A., We were a happy group on board
ship singing our dear Hawaiian holiday anthem. Some of
our men were ingenious. They made a lei out of orange
skins."
Captain Yamada, U.S. Army, was chaplain to the 442nd
Infantry Regiment, an all-volunteer unit of Hawaiians
and Japanese Americans, many of whom volunteered from
internment camps. His letters reveal the conditions of
military service in a segregated unit. The 442nd was
the most decorated unit in U.S. history, receiving more
than 18,000 awards. The veteran's widow, Ai Yamada, donated
the letters to the Veterans History Project collection.
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Typed
and bound correspondence with photographs. Maosao
Yamada Collection,
Veterans
History Project (59)
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THE BRENNER COLLECTION
The Brenner collection contains 1,261 letters and V-mails between
Norma Brenner and Corporal Joseph "Jerry" Brenner, U.S.
Army, 740th Field Artillery Battalion, between December 1942
and December 1945. The first two letters include Norma Brenner's
kiss. Also shown is a letter from Corporal Brenner describing
his initial reaction to Paris. These nine volumes of letters
and photographs were donated by Joseph "Jerry" Brenner.
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"Sweetheart," V-Mail
from Norma Brenner to Joseph Brenner, October 21, 1945
Page 2;
"This one's printed, this one's homemade," letter
with lipstick kiss, Norma Brenner to Joseph Brenner, June 10, 1944
Page 2 - Page
3 - Page 4 - Page
5;
"Dearest Darling Sweetheart," letter
from Joseph Brenner to Norma Brenner, Paris, October 23, 1945.
Page 2 - Page
3 - Page 4 - Page
5 - Page 6.
Jerry Brenner Collection, Veterans History Project (60-62)
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JUNGLE LIFE
While serving in the Pacific Theater, Technical Sergeant Samuel
Boylston, 6th Replacement Depot,13th Air Force, illustrated more
than sixty envelopes for the correspondence of his friend Gerald
W. Duquette to his wife in Westport, Connecticut. The envelopes
describe what the donor refers to as "Jungle Life." Boylston
and Duquette spent many months together among the lizards, mosquitoes,
and other jungle inhabitants. It was the beginning of a long
friendship. Gerald Duquette remembers Samuel Boylston as "a
fine Southern Gentleman. . . . He became a lawyer and a politician
after his Army Career." The sample illustrations on display are
entitled "The Party" (also on the back wall), "The
Pinup Girl," and "I Met An MP." Gerald Duquette donated
the cartoon envelopes to the Veterans History Project in memory
of his friend Samuel Boylston.
THE GOOFEIN JOURNAL
To correspond with her husband, Colonel Joseph I. Gurfein, during
World War II and the Korean War, Marion Gurfein created a mock
newspaper, The Goofein Journal. Mrs. Gurfein created
more than forty-eight hand-colored cards, many with her original
poems. These unique and personal cards were sent to keep up the
morale of her husband and detail the events of his wartime experiences
and the reactions of his wife to those experiences. The journal
contained banner illustrations, photos, and "news" stories
about family and friends. Marion Gurfein has donated the cards
and poems to the Veterans History Project.
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