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

This collection primarily consists of around 500 letters that Lieutenant Robert N. Lackhove of Altoona, Pennsylvania, wrote to his girlfriend and future wife, Myrle Hoffman of Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, between 1942 and 1945. Lackhove, a bombardier with the United States Army Air Forces, described his training in Texas, his experiences while stationed in Lavenham, England, and his participation in combat missions.

This collection primarily consists of around 500 letters that Lieutenant Robert N. Lackhove of Altoona, Pennsylvania, wrote to his girlfriend and future wife, Myrle Hoffman of Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, between 1942 and 1945. Lackhove, a bombardier with the United States Army Air Forces, described his training at camps throughout Texas and his experiences while stationed in Lavenham, England, where he flew combat missions.

The Correspondence series comprises the bulk of the collection. Three letters pre-date the war, including one letter from 1915 and two letters that Lackhove wrote to Myrle Hoffman in 1938. The bulk of his correspondence with Hoffman began in January 1942. He occasionally wrote about his work in York, Pennsylvania, until December 1942, when he joined the United States Army Air Forces. Lackhove corresponded regularly with Hoffman throughout his military service, and often wrote once every two or three days. He provided his initial impressions of military life and described his daily routine at the San Antonio Aviation Cadet Center in San Antonio, Texas, which included frequent interactions with upperclassmen, drills, and classroom work. He continued to write after his transfer to Bruce Field in Ballinger, Texas, and during bombardier training in San Angelo, Texas. He participated in practice bombing runs and often mentioned his flying time and other activities. Some of Lackhove's letters from this period include drawings of his uniform, bombing targets, and additional subjects. Lackhove was promoted to second lieutenant in January 1944, and attended a training course in Laredo, Texas, until around March, when he was assigned to Tampa, Florida; Avon Park, Florida; and Georgia, where he awaited overseas deployment.

In July 1944, Lackhove reported his arrival in England, where he was based throughout his time overseas. Though censorship prevented him from sharing many details, he mentioned his participation in bombing runs and recalled hearing German radio propaganda aimed at English speakers. He also provided detailed descriptions of people and occasionally mentioned trips to London. On August 6, 1944, he enclosed Icelandic currency in his letter to Myrle. After flying his required number of missions, he returned to the United States in early 1945.

Lackhove was briefly stationed in Miami Beach before being transferred to Midland, Texas, where he remained until June 1945, when he moved to Childress, Texas. He continued to attend navigation classes and to comment on daily camp life. His leisure time became more frequent, and he attended movies and played golf with his friends. Lackhove increasingly mentioned his feelings for Myrle, and urged her to make preparations for a wedding; the couple wed during one of his leaves in May 1945. After V-E Day, he began to anticipate his return to Pennsylvania, and after V-J Day he looked forward to a discharge. His final military letter is dated September 11, 1945, and he wrote one additional personal letter to Myrle in July 1946.

Though the vast majority of the correspondence consists of Lackhove's letters to Myrle, occasional letters from other family members and friends are interspersed throughout the series. Lackhove's parents, Louis and Mary, occasionally wrote letters to Myrle, and she also received letters from other acquaintances. Lackhove also enclosed letters from his parents and, on at least one occasion, a friend, in some of his letters to Myrle. A small number of letters that she wrote to Lackhove are also included, particularly after his return to the United States in 1945. She discussed her feelings about their upcoming wedding and her life in Camp Hill.

The Poetry series contains three typed poems relating to love and separation.

The Ephemera series contains 21 greeting cards that Robert Lackhove sent to Myrle Hoffmand and to his parents, celebrating birthdays and other holidays. The series also has an invitation, an announcement, and a thank-you card. Additional items include a photograph of a small girl named Vickie holding a telephone, a document regarding Robert Lackhove's military salary, and stamps.

This collection consists of the outgoing correspondence of Robert S. Martin, primarily to his wife Margaret (Roth) Martin, as well as photographs and other materials documenting his service with the United States Army during the Second World War. The papers detail his relationship with Margaret, Army training at Camp Callan, his education with the Army Specialized Training Program at Compton College and Texas A & M University, and his service with the 3483rd Ordnance Medium Automotive Maintenance Company, near Tacloban City in the Leyte Province, Philippines.

This collection consists of the outgoing correspondence of Robert S. Martin, primarily to his wife Margaret (Roth) Martin, as well as photographs and other materials documenting his service with the United States Army during the Second World War. The collection details his relationship with Margaret, Army training at Camp Callan, his education with the Army Specialized Training Program at Compton Junior College and Texas A & M University, and his service with the 3483rd Ordnance Medium Automotive Maintenance Company, near Tacloban City in the Leyte Province, Philippines.

The Correspondence Series includes approximately 2.5 linear feet of Robert Martin's outgoing letters, almost exclusively to Margaret (Roth) Martin from 1941 to 1949 (bulk 1943-1946). Several letters to his parents and Margaret's parents are also present. Robert's correspondence details his Army training at Camp Callan as well as his education under the Army Specialized Training Program at Compton Junior College and Texas A & M University. He described coursework, tests, and comradery among his cohort. Robert and Margaret's relationship is also documented, including their courtship, engagement, and wedding planning. Robert wrote of his voyage across the Pacific aboard the USS Admiral Capps and described daily life in the Army camp near Tacloban City, Leyte Province, Philippines, where the 3483rd Ordnance Medium Automotive Maintenance Company was stationed in a non-combat zone. He commented on his work as company clerk and later as a clerk in the maintenance shop. Robert regularly spoke of recreation activities at the camp, including movies, USO shows, radio programs, reading, and sports. In his free time, Robert worked on constructing boats, repairing Jeeps, and taking and developing photographs. Robert built his own darkroom by repurposing an Australian Red Cross truck. Many of his letters reflect on his relationship with Margaret and his reactions to events at home, including her education at DePauw University and her teaching elementary school upon graduation. He included some commentary on general wartime efforts, reactions to news of the Japanese surrender, the lifting of censorship, local Filipino culture and work, and demobilization efforts. Several post-war letters speak to his work with Caterpillar Tractor Company, including a demanding travel schedule as he attended equipment shows in the American South and along the East Coast.

The Documents Series includes 21 items, dating from 1923 to 2009 and representing Robert and Margaret's personal lives as well as Robert's military service. Personal documents include copies of Robert's birth certificate, educational records and diploma from Purdue University, Robert and Margaret's marriage certificate, and Margaret's license to teach in Missouri. Military documents include Robert's registration and identification cards, training and education records, war savings bonds, documents related to his honorable discharge and pension, and certificates acknowleding his service.

The Printed Items Series includes seven items: a newspaper clipping about Robert and Margaret's engagement, a Camp Callan Antiaircraft Replacement Training Center trainees' guide book, a Texas A & M photo pamphlet of campus with manuscript notations, a clipping from an Army newsletter, a copy of The Amended GI Bill of Rights and How it Worksa newspaper clipping of Robert Martin's obituary, and an in memorium flier.

The Insignia Series features two uniform insignia badges, one for the Antiaircraft Command and the other for the Army Specialized Training Program.

The Photographs Series includes one pocket photo album, with a photograph of Margaret taken while she was a student at DePauw University, and one of Margaret and Robert taken shortly after their marriage in August 1944. Eight loose photographs include three of Robert in uniform, one of Robert and Margaret, and four candid shots of camp life in the Philippines. Two reproductions of a wedding day photograph of Margaret and Robert are also present. Eighteen dis-bound photograph album leaves are also present, featuring images from 1941 to 1946. Photographs represent the Martin family, student life with the Army Specialized Training Program at Texas A & M, time stationed with ordnance units at Jackson, Mississippi, and Aberdeen, Maryland, as well as military life in the Philippines. Photographs from the Philippines primarily document informal camp activities, including men in their tents, posing with vehicles, and at rest. Some images represent local Filipino residents and architecture, Robert's photography darkroom, and two images of Japanese prisoners-of-war. Photographs labelled "?" depict Margaret (Roth) Martin.

The Service Record Series consists of one scrapbook, "His Service Record," documenting Robert's service in the Army. It includes manuscript notations about his personal and military history, six photographs, a newspaper announcement of Robert and Margaret's engagement, and a copy of the February 1944 The Slipstick, a yearbook from the A.S.T.P. at Texas A & M.

The Simonetti family papers contain correspondence, documents, photographs, printed material, and ephemera related to the family, who emigrated from Italy to the United States in 1920. The bulk of the material relates to Pius (Pio) and Gaetano (Nino) Simonetti and their service in the United States Army during the Second World War.

The Simonetti family papers contain correspondence, documents, photographs, printed material, and ephemera related to the family, who emigrated from Italy to the United States in 1920. The bulk of the material relates to Pius (Pio) and Gaetano (Nino) Simonetti and their service in the United States Army during the Second World War.

The Correspondence series , which comprises the bulk of the collection, covers the years 1909-1921 and 1942-1945 and includes approximately 1,000 letters and pieces of V-mail; Letters, V-mail, and Telegrams are housed in separate subseries. Roughly two-thirds of the correspondence is written in Italian, with the remainder of the material in English and a handful of items in French. Alberto Simonetti wrote the earliest items in the Letters subseries to his wife Angelica, and his letters often contain pressed flowers; these letters are in Italian. The later run of correspondence, including the V-mail subseries, consists of letters composed by and addressed to Pio Simonetti during his World War II service in Algeria, Italy, and France; these are written in both Italian and English. In his letters to his son, Alberto reported family news, and often discussed rationing as well as his personal opinions of the United States government and of the war. His son sent home news of friends and relatives, and often described his leisure activities and military life, though he seldom mentioned combat. During 1945, he frequently wrote of his upcoming marriage and of his efforts to secure a visa for his new wife. By 1945, Pio expressed his frustration at remaining in Europe despite the official conclusion of combat operations. The Telegrams subseries primarily consists of messages sent between Alberto and Angelica Simonetti in the 1940s.

The Photographs and Negatives series has 41 photographs and 10 negatives. Pio Simonetti took the majority of the photographs, which depict army life in France and Italy during World War II and include several pictures of Pio and his friends. Other material in the collection belonged to Alberto Simonetti during World War I or to friends of Pio and Nino.

The Receipts series contains 9 items, the majority of which are related to goods ordered by and sent to Pio Simonetti during his European tour of duty. One item, dated 1934, is in Italian.

The Army Informational Materials series features material owned by Pio Simonetti during his World War II service. Pio collected his notes, quizzes, and exercises in Italian and English, and wrote English-language notes in a spiral notebook during training. He also saved GI pamphlets on banking, real estate, and sexual health. Other materials relate to interrogation tactics and the treatment of prisoners of war.

The Maps series consists of maps of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and Picardy Region, France ("Triville"), which Pio Simonetti acquired during his military intelligence training. The series contains additional map overlays, as well as two maps of Palermo, Sicily.

Printed material includes newspaper clippings in English, French, and Italian; the English and French clippings date from World War II and the Italian clippings from 1918. Among the later materials are several satirical cartoons by William Henry Mauldin ("Bill"). In addition to these, the series also holds two pamphlets, A Total Moral Defense (1941) and a Pocket Guide to France (undated), as well as a book, P. C. Wren's The Wages of Virtue (undated).

The Ephemera series incorporates a variety of materials collected by Pio Simonetti during World War II, including holiday greeting cards, postcards, prayer cards, schedules, programs, stamps, and Italian and French currency.

The William M. Muth collection contains diaries, photographs, and documents concerning Muth's experiences in Germany and the Netherlands in 1939 and his United States Navy service in the Pacific from 1942-1943.

The William M. Muth collection contains 2 diaries, 40 photographs, 2 envelopes of photographic negatives, and 4 documents concerning Muth's experiences in Germany and the Netherlands in 1939 and his United States Navy service in the Pacific from 1942-1943.

William M. Muth wrote 2 Diaries. The first (5" x 8") pertains to his life and travels in Europe from January 1, 1939-November 7, 1939, with daily entries covering January 1-February 5, March 19-May 14, and August 13-November 7. Muth described his life in Munich, Freiburg, and Heidelberg, Germany, and his visits to Austria, Hungary, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and Italy. He wrote about his daily activities and social life and occasionally commented on anti-Semitism and increasing international tension. Muth reacted negatively to an anti-Semitic lecture and other propaganda (January 25, 1939), though he admired Adolf Hitler's oratory skills (January 30, 1939). By late August, the United States Consulate recommended that American citizens leave Germany, and Muth discussed his efforts to leave while noting reports of Polish armament and German militarization. On August 26, he traveled to Amsterdam. His entries from the first week of September reflect his efforts to return to the United States amidst the outbreak of war after Germany's invasion of Poland. He reacted negatively to perceived British exceptionalism and to Great Britain's declaration of war. After a brief return to Germany to gather belongings, Muth sailed for Baltimore on the SS Black Falkon on October 25. He arrived around November 7, the date of his final entry.

Muth's second diary (3" x 5") contains brief daily entries about his experiences on the USS Curtiss from January 6, 1942-August 2, 1943. He was stationed in Hawaii, New Caledonia, and Australia, and traveled to ports such as Pearl Harbor, Palmyra Atoll, Nouméa, Sydney, Perth, and Adelaide. In addition to noting his activities, such as flights and games of tennis, he occasionally commented on his wife and marriage.

The Photographs and Negatives series is made up of 38 snapshots and 2 larger photographs of United States sailors, soldiers, military buildings, and aircraft, taken between 1941 and 1944. Several portraits and one of the large group photographs are labeled. One picture shows a mock medal, the "Distinguished Skragging Cross." Many of the photographs were taken in Perth, Australia. The 2 envelopes of photographic negatives primarily depict uniformed military personnel.

Cablegrams and Ephemera include 2 cablegrams that William M. Muth sent to his wife and father on November 30, 1943, with his request that they stop sending mail. The series also has Muth's photographic identification card from the International Student Club in Munich, Germany (1938/1939), and his naval aviator certificate (September 1941), which is housed in a leather wallet. The final item is a certificate of gratitude for Muth's World War II service (July 15, 1946).