John H. Griffith collection, 1942-1972 (majority within 1942-1945, 1951-1952)

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University of Michigan William L. Clements Library

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909 South University Avenue

Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA

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Restrictions:: The collection is open for research.

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Summary

Creator:: Griffith, Leon A. and Griffith, Amelia Herrmann
Abstract:: The John H. Griffith collection contains letters and documents pertaining to Griffith's time as a surgical technician in the United States Army during World War II and to his life in Bologna, Italy, as a Rotary Fellow from 1951-1952. Much of the collection consists of Griffith's wartime correspondence with his parents.
Extent:: 1.5 linear feet
Language:: English
German
Authors:: Collection processed and finding aid created by Meg Hixon, October 2011

Background

Scope and Content:

The John H. Griffith collection contains letters and documents pertaining to Griffith's time as a surgical technician in the United States Army during World War II and to his life in Bologna, Italy, as a Rotary Fellow from 1951-1952. Much of the collection consists of Griffith's wartime correspondence with his parents.

The Correspondence series (344 items) relates to Griffith's life in Ann Arbor before the war, his service in the United States Army Medical Department, and his experiences in Europe as a research fellow in Bologna, Italy. Griffith addressed the majority of his correspondence to his parents, Leon and Amelia Griffith of Vicksburg, Michigan; Griffith also wrote to his younger siblings, Richard ("Dick") and Helen. His earliest letters document his life as a freshman at the University of Michigan. One letter contains newspaper clippings pertaining to a convoy trip taken by a University of Michigan student (December 6, 1942); several letters to Griffith's father from the university offer congratulations on Griffith's academic record.

After he was drafted in 1944, Griffith wrote to his parents about army life, documenting his service at Camp Bowie in Texas; Lawson General Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia; and Moore General Hospital in Swannanoa, North Carolina. Enclosures include newsletters from Camp Bowie (April 29, 1944; May 6, 1944) and an "Organization Day" flyer from Lawson General Hospital (July 2, 1944); one letter contains a diagram of a battlefield (June 8, 1944).

Griffith remained in the United States with the 86th Evacuation Hospital and the 134th Evacuation Hospital until the latter was deployed overseas in January 1945. His later letters, some of which have been censored, pertain to army life during the closing stages of combat in the European Theater. Griffith described postwar Germany and "the constant dribble of slave laborers leaving the Reich" (April 20, 1945). He wrote 1 letter to his grandfather in German, remarking on the beauty of the German countryside (April 28, 1945).

After the war, Griffith returned to the United States; he resumed his correspondence in August 1951, when he related his experiences traveling throughout Europe and living in Bologna, Italy. The collection also contains 2 letters in German to Leon and Amelia Griffith from a relative, "Uncle Chris," in Genkingen, Germany, whom Griffith visited during his travels abroad (December 27, 1951; January 14, 1952).

The Documents series (18 items) contains items related to Griffith's education and World War II service, including a notebook and a certificate for successful course completion at the United States Army Surgical Technician School, Griffith's curriculum vitae, report cards from his elementary and high school studies, and a war ration booklet.

The Photographs series (100 items) contains portraits and landscapes shot in Europe during the war and during the early 1950s. Most items are labeled, and include scenes from postwar Germany.

The Printed Materials series (24 items) contains clippings of Ernie Pyle columns from a Michigan newspaper as well as clippings mentioning Griffith's university scholarship; a copy of The Daily American (November 27, 1951); 2 books for American soldiers, including an "overseas edition" of James Thurber's My World--And Welcome To It; and a program from graduation exercises for the Army's School for Medical Department Technicians.

The Artifacts series contains 2 World War II Army patches, 1 WWII blue star service flag, and a flashlight.

Biographical / Historical:

John Herrmann Griffith, the son of Leon Griffith and Amelia Hermann, was born on January 25, 1924, and grew up in Vicksburg, Michigan. He graduated as valedictorian from Vicksburg High School and received a scholarship to the University of Michigan, where he matriculated in 1942. Griffith studied history at the university until being drafted by the army in 1944, and attended the United States Army Surgical Technician School at Lawson General Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. During the war, he first served as an operating room technician with the 86th Evacuation Hospital at Camp Bowie, Texas; he joined the 134th Evacuation Hospital in late 1944 and was deployed overseas in January 1945. After serving in France and Germany, he returned to the University of Michigan, where he earned a master's degree in 1947 and a doctoral degree in 1955. During his doctoral studies, he spent a year in Bologna, Italy, as a Rotary Fellow. Griffith remained in Ann Arbor for the rest of his life, where he worked at the William L. Clements Library, the Ann Arbor Commission on Professional and Hospital Activities, and the University of Michigan. On November 22, 1957, he married Evelyn Greaves; they had two children: Paul William (b. 1958) and Andrew Richard (b. 1960). John H. Griffith died in Ann Arbor on March 16, 2003.

Acquisition Information:

2006. M-4696 .

Processing information:

Cataloging funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC). This collection has been processed according to minimal processing procedures and may be revised, expanded, or updated in the future.

Arrangement: