Collections : [University of Michigan William L. Clements Library]

This collection contains around 190 letters that Major Kenneth L. Tingley wrote to his wife Thelma and infant daughter Susan while serving with the 304th Infantry Regiment in Europe during World War II. Tingley also received 7 letters from his wife, relatives, and friends.

This collection contains around 190 letters that Major Kenneth L. Tingley wrote to his wife Thelma and infant daughter Susan while serving with the 304th Infantry Regiment in Europe during World War II. Tingley also received 7 letters from his wife, relatives, and friends.

Tingley began his correspondence on November 7, 1944, and wrote about life at Camp McCoy, Wisconsin, until his deployment overseas in December 1944. He first traveled to England, where he shared his thoughts about the effects of the war and mentioned sightseeing in London. He was transferred to France in mid-January and continued to write almost daily throughout his service. Tingley described his travels through France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany during the final months of the war, and commented on the local residents. He occasionally described his duties, which included arranging billets for soldiers and acquiring supplies. Tingley noted the Allies' constant attacks against Germany, and discussed his progress while advancing toward the Rhine River. On March 7, 1945, he reflected on the idea of total war and on the state of Germany. On April 1, 1945, he reported his promotion to major, and in May 1945 he received a Bronze Star.

After V-E Day, Tingley was stationed in Altenburg and Grafenau, Germany; he also travelled to Leipzig, where he described some of the war's destruction. He also commented on military and civilian life in postwar Germany, and provided more details about his experiences during the fighting. On September 17, 1945, he mentioned a visit to Adolf Hitler's home and to his headquarters, the Eagle's Nest. In his final letter, dated November 22, 1945, he shared his hope that he would return home in time to celebrate Christmas. Tingley's daughter Susan had been born while he was in the military, and he expressed his love and admiration for her and anticipated their first meeting.

Ephemera items include an invitation to a ceremony for wives of servicemen in the 304th Infantry Regiment, as well as a later document outlining the organizational hierarchy of a military task force and reporting some potential problems the force might face.

This collection contains approximately 50 letters that Private First Class George W. Ingram wrote to his mother and siblings in Boyne City, Michigan, while he served with the United States Army between 1943 and 1945. Ingram corresponded with his family while in training in the United States and while stationed in North Africa, Italy, and southern France with a military police unit. The collection also includes a document, 2 postcards, photographs, a photograph album, and ephemeral items.

This collection contains approximately 50 letters that Private First Class George W. Ingram wrote to his mother and siblings in Boyne City, Michigan, while he served with the United States Army between 1943 and 1945. Ingram corresponded with his family while in training in the United States and while stationed in North Africa, Italy, and southern France with a military police unit. The collection also includes a document, 2 postcards, photographs, a photograph album, and ephemeral items.

The Correspondence series contains George Ingram's letters to his family, as well as 2 postcards and 1 document. He wrote regularly to his mother, Sadie Ingram, and less frequently to his siblings, Bob and Guy, between January 1943 and February 1945. In his earliest letters, he commented on his experiences at Camp Grant, Illinois, and Camp McCoy, Wisconsin, where he attended basic training. By March, he relocated to Camp River Rouge, Michigan, and anticipated being sent to military police training. In July 1943, he reported that he had been deployed overseas as a member of the "149th Prov. M.P. Det.," and that he would help guard prisoners of war.

Ingram wrote about his service in North Africa, Italy, and southern France, and he frequently responded to news of friends from home. He occasionally mentioned his religious habits. After his return to the United States in late 1944, Ingram discussed his wife Betty, expressing hopes that his family would approve of her and inquiring about their opinions of her. He shared some of his postwar plans and related his efforts to obtain a medical discharge from the army. Ingram spent much of early 1945 as a member of the Army Service Forces at Camp Peary, Virginia. Throughout his service, he occasionally wrote on illustrated stationery, and he sent his mother 1 postcard from Wisconsin, which includes an image of two Mongolian pheasants. The series holds a "War Savings Bond Pay Reservation Application," signed by George W. Ingram in January 1943.

The Photographs series includes 4 individual photographs, a photographic negative, and 1 photo album. The photo album (52 pages) contains snapshots and portraits taken primarily in and around Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor, Michigan, between 1941 and 1943. Most pictures depict soldiers, young women, and a baby. Other scenes include St. Petersburg, Florida; Niagara Falls; and the United States Capitol.

The Printed items and ephemera series contains newspaper clippings of a poem and an image of a bride, a certificate for Bob Ingram's service in the United States Crop Corps Victory Farm Volunteers program in 1945, and a booklet illustrating methods for creating shadow illustrations with one's hands.

The Realia series consists of a pair of iron ice tongs.

This collection contains 118 letters that Private Charles W. Lund of Edgerton, Wisconsin, wrote to his family while serving in the United States Army during World War II. Lund trained at bases in Wisconsin, Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee, and later served in the European Theater.

This collection (122 items) contains 118 letters that Private Charles W. Lund of Edgerton, Wisconsin, wrote to his family while serving in the United States Army during World War II. Lund trained at bases in Wisconsin, Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee, and later served in the European Theater.

The Correspondence series (119 items) comprises the bulk of the collection. Lund, who addressed the majority of his letters to his mother, frequently inquired about his siblings and other relatives in his correspondence from November 26, 1942-August 1, 1945. At Camp McCoy, Wisconsin, and Fort McClellan, Alabama, he commented on basic training and other aspects of camp life. Two of his letters from December 1942 concern members of the 100th Infantry Battalion, a regiment comprised of Japanese soldiers, and Lund reported one lethal fight in which a Texan killed a Japanese man (December 14, 1942). At the Mississippi Ordnance Plant and at Camp Forest, Tennessee, Lund wrote about the weather, family news, and his health.

After his arrival in England in February 1944, he discussed his finances, as well as ongoing health problems and hospitalization. During the summer of 1944, his regiment was stationed on an island where they encountered Italian prisoners of war. Lund was hospitalized again for back problems in September 1944. After rejoining his unit in 1945, he described his experiences in Germany. In the summer of 1945, he oversaw prisoners of war at a submarine factory in Mönchengladbach, and he anticipated a furlough and possible transfer to the Pacific Theater. Lund sent 2 greeting cards home in December 1944, and the series also includes a V-mail letter and a postcard regarding address changes. The final item is an undated letter that a soldier named Robert wrote to his mother from the United States Naval Air Station at Norfolk, Virginia.

The Visual Material series (3 items) contains a color photograph of a soldier with a dog and 2 pages of Sad Sack comic strips.