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This collection is made up of 5 diaries that Frederick Lafferty composed while serving with the United States Army during World War II. Lafferty, who worked in a communications unit, described his experiences at Camp Edwards, Massachusetts; Victoria, Australia; New Caledonia; and Guadalcanal.

This collection is made up of 5 diaries that Frederick Lafferty composed while serving with the United States Army during World War II. Lafferty, who worked in a communications unit, described his experiences at Camp Edwards, Massachusetts; Victoria, Australia; New Caledonia; and Guadalcanal. The volumes cover March 24, 1941, and November 17, 1942, with detailed entries for January 20, 1942-August 11, 1942, and October 1, 1942-November 17, 1942.

Lafferty began his first diary with his enlistment and early training in the United States, and started keeping regular entries in late January 1942, after his deployment overseas. In a note to Helen dated August 15, 1942 (pp. 27-29), Lafferty indicated his desire for her to read his diary. He anticipated an upcoming assignment, and shared his belief in military service as a duty to one's country.

Lafferty wrote about his experiences onboard the transport ship Santa Elena while traveling from the United States to Australia via the Panama Canal; his stay in Ballarat and Melbourne, Australia; and his journey to New Caledonia, where he remained for several months. As a member of a communications unit, he often worked in a "message room" and reported rumors of upcoming maneuvers and news of recent battles; his unit worked in cooperation with French radio operators. He heard, and related, stories of Marines who had participated in combat against Japanese forces.

Lafferty's diaries primarily reflect aspects of soldiers' daily lives, such as meals and the poor quality of the food, mail, inspections, leisure activities, and religious habits. A Catholic, he often reported his discussions with priests, attended mass, and prayed the rosary. He also occasionally discussed air raids and training exercises.

Lafferty's final diary almost exclusively concerns his active participation during the Guadalcanal campaign. This diary also has a list of items the soldiers carried (pages 34-35).

Non-textual matter includes a picture of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Winston Churchill posed next to the Statue of Liberty and the flags of the United States and Britain (cover of the 3rd diary). Also, an entry is written on the inside of a Philip Morris cigarette package (laid into the 5th diary).

Two of the diaries contain enclosures:

• Volume 1
  • Printed maps of Ballarat, Australia [ca. 1942]
  • La France Australe, New Caledonia newspaper (August 13, 1942)
• Volume 5
  • Recipe for developing film (undated)
  • United States Army bulletin regarding military information and artillery practices, "Sterling Brand" Grape Juice, and battle precautions (August 9, 1942)
  • Real photograph postcard from Fred to Mrs. Eliza Lafferty, Boston, Massachusetts (September 4, 1906)
  • New Caledonia stamp [ca. 1942]

The collection holds two loose items. The first is a letter from Frederick Lafferty to his sister Helen about his intention to send her his diaries after the conclusion of the war. The other is a printed program for a memorial service held by the Elks of Boston, Lodge No. 10. Frederick Lafferty is recognized in a list of "Deceased Brothers," 1945-1946.

This collection is made up of letters and postcards that Second Lieutenant Lewis Douglas Lacy, a master engineer, wrote to his family while serving in the American Expeditionary Forces during World War I. Lacy was deployed to France around July 1917. He wrote regular letters about his experiences overseas, which included service at the front lines and at the army's general headquarters.

This collection contains about 100 letters and postcards that Second Lieutenant Lewis Douglas Lacy, a master engineer, wrote to his family while serving in the American Expeditionary Forces during World War I. Lacy was deployed to France around July 1917. He wrote regular letters about his experiences overseas, which included service on the front line and at the army's general headquarters.

The Correspondence series is comprised of Lewis Lacy's letters to his mother and sister, who lived in Webster Groves, Missouri. His first letters describe his experiences traveling through Pennsylvania to Washington, D.C., and traveling overseas to England in the summer of 1917. While stationed in England in early August, Lacy participated in a large parade in London (August 15, 1917). After his arrival in France, he described the country, complained about censorship restrictions, and discussed his experiences, including service on the front line in November and December 1917. While at the front, he mentioned a recent successful push by the Allied military forces, and shared his pleasure at having helped capture German positions. In early 1918, Lacy was transferred to general headquarters, and he was promoted to second lieutenant in July 1918; his mother received a formal notice of the promotion (July 10, 1918). After the armistice in November 1918, Lacy wrote about life in Neufchâteau, France, where he was stationed until around April 1919. He then traveled to Brest, where he wrote his last letter on March 23, 1919. The final item is a letter that a soldier named "Bob" wrote to Lewis Lacy from Walter Reed Hospital on June 9, 1919, providing news of mutual military acquaintances.

The collection's Printed Items include a card encouraging French victory loans, German and French currency (2 bills), and a copy of the Windy City Echo, the 13th Engineers Regiment's newspaper (December 13, 1918).

This collection is made up of letters that Richard S. Samuels sent to his wife Sonya while serving in the United States Navy during World War II. Samuels wrote almost daily about his experiences at the Farragut Naval Training Station in northern Idaho and the Naval Landing Force Equipment Depot at Albany, California.

This collection contains correspondence and other materials pertaining to the United States Navy service of Richard S. Samuels during World War II.

The Correspondence series comprises the bulk of the collection. Private W. Robert Liphardt, Jr. ("Wally") wrote 4 letters to Richard and "Gussie" Samuels from August 20, 1942-January 13, 1943. Originally from Berwyn, Illinois, he was a member of the 340th Bomb Group, 487th Bomb Squadron, and served at United States Army Air Forces bases in Colorado and South Carolina.

Most items are letters that Richard S. Samuels sent to Sonya and Susan ("Push") Samuels, his wife and baby daughter, from February 3, 1944-November 14, 1945. His earliest letters concern his journey from Los Angeles to northern Idaho, where he trained at Camp Waldron. He regularly composed 2-4-page letters about his love for his family and his experiences at the Farragut naval base, including his attempts to earn an electrician's rating. Samuels listed his equipment and commented on daily activities such as inspections and drill.

After July 1944, he wrote from Albany, California, where he was an electrician for the Naval Landing Force Equipment Depot. Samuels shared anecdotes from his work and mentioned his frequent visits to Berkeley, California, where he often posted his letters. Some letters pertain to his finances and his attempts to rent an apartment near Albany. Samuels and other naval personnel regularly attended movie screenings, and he sometimes offered his opinions of the films. In every letter, Samuels wrote of his love for his wife, and he usually commented on his daughter's health and developmental progress. A Thanksgiving Day menu, decorated with a cartoon of a sailor and a turkey, is enclosed in his letter of November 25, 1944. Samuels often used stationery from the United States Navy, the Farragut Naval Training Station, and the Naval Landing Force Equipment Depot, and most of his letters have sketches of hearts pierced with arrows.

In addition to Samuels's letters, the collection has Documents and Ephemera from the World War II era, such as an unlabeled black patch with a white circle, a vending machine card with a picture of Joan Davis, a booklet about the Farragut Naval Training Station, and ten copies of a portrait of a sailor in his U.S. Navy uniform, one of which has an affectionate personal inscription on the back. Fourteen copies of the Farragut News are dated March 9, 1944-July 20, 1944, and contain news and photographs from the naval installation.

The Roland F. Kerner papers contain correspondence, documents, printed items, and ephemera pertaining to Kerner's service in the United States Marine Corps and Seabees during World War II. He wrote letters to his mother and received letters from his fiancée while he was serving in the Pacific. The additional items concern various aspects of his military service.

The Roland F. Kerner papers are made up of correspondence, documents, printed items, and ephemera pertaining to Kerner's service in the United States Marine Corps and Seabees during World War II. The Correspondence series (256 items), which includes manuscript and typed letters, V-mail, telegrams, and postcards, contains Kerner's incoming and outgoing correspondence with his mother and his fiancée. From November 1942-May 1945, Kerner wrote to his widowed mother about his travels, training schedule, leisure activities, and military duties in the United States and the Pacific Theater. He also commented on her work and encouraged her not to overexert herself. Occasionally, Kerner mentioned developments in the war, such as the D-Day invasions. In a letter of September 7, 1943, he discussed island residents' desire to marry off their daughters to American soldiers, and his letter of April 1, 1945, reports his courtship with and engagement to Louise Stevens. Kerner wrote infrequently after May 1945, when he again went overseas; his later letters concern his travels in the Pacific and, in one case, a conflict with his brother-in-law, Paul Dieter (October 1, 1945).

From May 1945-October 1945, most items are love letters from Louise Stevens to Roland F. Kerner. She wrote about her daily life and social activities in Wheaton, Illinois, and shared her joy after hearing about the end of the war. Her letter of September 29, 1945, is written on illustrated stationery celebrating the Allied victory, and at least two of her letters enclose photographs. Far less frequently, Kerner received letters from his mother and sister, who wrote about housework and family life. Ray [Bilter], another soldier, wrote a letter about his experiences in Germany near the end of the war and shared his negative opinion of Germans after seeing concentration camps (April 29, 1945).

The Documents and Reports series (24 items) is made up of receipts, military records, and other items pertaining to Roland F. Kerner, such as a receipt for work on his car (June 2, 1942), a document about Kerner's approved leave of absence from the navy (May 17, 1945), documents about his eligibility for postwar education benefits (April 23, 1946), and 5 lists of naval personnel. An undated form about Kerner's military service encloses photographs of him in uniform.

The Printed Items series (21 items) mostly contains newspapers and clippings, often about the Pacific Theater of the war. Issues of Yank, the West Chicago Press, and servicemen's informal newsletters are included. Other items are two books with religious devotions and a map of the Pacific Ocean. The Ephemera series (15 items) consists of 4 wage slips, a letter fragment, photographs, 5 photographic postcards of scenes from Melbourne, Australia, and other items.