Collections

This collection contains 4 letters that John M. Harris wrote to his parents in Wellsville, New York, while participating in the Navy V-12 training program at the University of Rochester during World War II.

This collection contains 4 letters that John M. Harris wrote to his parents in Wellsville, New York, while participating in the United States Navy V-12 training program at the University of Rochester during World War II. In letters dated July 22, [1943]; March 9, 1944; March 13, 1944; and March 20, 1944, Harris discussed his coursework, roommates, physical training, daily life, and work with the school's paper, The Campus (now The Campus Times). His first letter is written on stationery with a printed picture of a sailor on a boat gazing at a mermaid.

This collection is made up of 27 letters that Leroy Stecker wrote to his family while serving in the United States Navy during World War II. Stecker, a seaman first class, was based at Norfolk, Virginia, and served onboard the Oceanographer in the Pacific Theater.

This collection is made up of 27 letters that Leroy Stecker wrote to his family while serving in the United States Navy during World War II. Stecker, a seaman first class, was based at Norfolk, Virginia, and served onboard the Oceanographer in the Pacific Theater. Stecker addressed his letters to his mother and stepfather in Torrance, California, and to a woman named Joan who lived with them, from July 12, 1942, to September 8, 1943. He was stationed in Norfolk, Virginia, until late August, when he joined the crew of the Oceanographer, which served in the Aleutian Islands, Hawaii, and the South Pacific during the war. Stecker wrote primarily about his everyday life and discussed his meals, hobbies, and acquaintances. In Norfolk, he met a woman whose husband had gone to war, and he later discussed a relationship with a married woman, reporting her intention of getting a divorce. Stecker frequently responded to news of acquaintances from home and on one occasion offered advice for a man named "Bus," who considered joining the navy. A pencil drawing of a man in profile is enclosed in Stecker's letter of February 2, 1943.

This collection is primarily made up of letters that Pharmacist's Mate Norman C. Stewart wrote to his girlfriend and later wife, Dorothy Seltzer of Norristown, Pennsylvania, about his experiences in the United States Navy during World War II. Stewart served at the United States Naval Hospital in Newport, Rhode Island; in Oakland, California; and in the Pacific Theater.

This collection is made up of 56 letters that Pharmacist's Mate Norman C. Stewart wrote to his girlfriend and later wife, Dorothy Seltzer of Norristown, Pennsylvania, about his experiences in the United States Navy during World War II. Stewart served at the United States Naval Hospital in Newport, Rhode Island; in Oakland, California; and in the Pacific Theater. One letter by Norman's mother Katie and two school essays by Norman's brother Mervin complete the collection.

Stewart's correspondence concerns his navy service in Rhode Island, California, and the Pacific Theater from April 12, 1942-October 27, 1945. Only 1 letter from 1944 is present. Stewart discussed his work in a hospital laboratory while at Newport, and training maneuvers while at Alameda, California.

From February 1945-October 1945, Stewart commented on his travels in the Pacific, such as visits to Hawaii and Guam. His leisure activities included reading, attending football games, and seeing movies. Stewart's later letters concern the discharge process and his anticipated return to civilian life. Throughout his military service, he wrote of his love for Dorothy.

Mervin Stewart, Norman's brother, wrote 2 school essays in September 1943: "Verbal vs. Chemical Poison," about Axis propaganda, and "Country versus City Life." Stewart's teacher made brief remarks on each essay with a red pencil.

This collection contains correspondence, military records, ephemera, and other material related to Commander Sherlock Hibbs, who served in the United States Navy during World War II. The material documents his service on the staff of Admiral Calvin T. Durgin and in an intelligence unit. Additional material concerns his grandfather, William Congress Hibbs, a Civil War veteran who lived in Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri.

The Sherlock and William C. Hibbs collection contains correspondence, military records, ephemera, and other material related to Commander Sherlock Hibbs, who served with the United States Navy in both theaters of World War II, and to his grandfather, William Congress Hibbs, a Civil War veteran who lived in Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri. Included are 9 letters and documents, 2 photographs, and 1 typescript (47 pages) related to William C. Hibbs, concerning his Civil War pension and a Michigan soldier's experiences as a prisoner of the Confederate Army. Most of the material, including approximately 250 items and numerous photographs, relates to the military service of Sherlock Hibbs, who served in both theaters of World War II, and trained at Quonset Point, Rhode Island.

The William C. Hibbs series is divided into 3 subseries: Letters and Documents, Photographs and Newspaper Clipping, and Typescript.

The Letters and Documents subseries contains 9 items. Two items are letters: one from F. H. Wagner, a Civil War veteran, who reminisced about his Civil War service and enclosed a 2-page typed account entitled "The Johnson Court-Martial Case" (July 1909), and the other from Robert Hibbs to his brother William C. Hibbs, discussing the costs of a recent funeral (April 5, 1919). Other items include 4 documents concerning the Civil War pension claimed on behalf of William C. Hibbs, who served with Company I of the 14th Illinois Volunteer Regiment (1909-1921), and 3 forms discharging Hibbs from the Illinois Soldiers' & Sailors' Home (1918 and 1926), and from the Danville Branch of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers (1918).

The Photographs and Newspaper Clipping subseries includes two undated black-and-white photographs of a man standing amidst buildings, as well as a newspaper obituary for William C. Hibbs ([1927]).

The Typescript, entitled "The Terrors of Rebel Prisons," by Private Thaddeus L. Waters of Company G, 2nd Michigan Cavalry Regiment, recounts the author's experiences at Andersonville and other Confederate prisons after his capture at the Battle of Chickamauga. The document, published in 1891, consists of 12 chapters (47 pages).

The Sherlock Hibbs series holds correspondence, military documents, and other items, primarily concerning his military service during World War II.

The Correspondence subseries contains 42 items, including 10 letters and 2 Christmas cards addressed to Sherlock Hibbs, 4 telegrams Hibbs wrote during the 1940 Republican National Convention, 24 letters Hibbs wrote to his parents while serving in the United States Navy during World War II, 1 letter Admiral Calvin T. Durgin wrote to Mr. and Mrs. Hibbs, and 1 navy telegram.

Of the first 7 items, one concerns Hibbs’s financial career (February 19, 1933), and 6 relate to the 1940 Republican National Convention, including brief signed acknowledgments from Alf M. Landon and Wendell Willkie (June 24, 1940, and November 18, 1940), and 4 telegrams Hibbs sent to members of the convention, regarding his views on intra-party cooperation and his support for Wendell Willkie (June 25, 1940-June 27, 1940).

The following 29 items pertain to Hibbs's naval service, including 24 letters he wrote to his parents, William E. and Emma S. Hibbs of Battle Creek, Michigan, while onboard the USS Ranger in early 1943; during his training with the Commander Air Fleet at Quonset Point, Rhode Island, throughout the summer of 1943; and while serving on the USS Tulagi in 1944. He described several aspects of military life, including his friendship with Admiral Calvin T. Durgin and activities while on leave in New York City. He also commented on war news and offered his parents some investing and financial advice. Durgin wrote one letter to the Hibbs family on June 29, 1944, anticipating an upcoming foreign deployment and enclosing a photograph of himself from a newspaper clipping. After the war, Sherlock Hibbs received a typed letter of appreciation for his military service and well wishes for his future, signed by Secretary of the Navy James Vincent Forrestal (March 30, 1946). Also included is a telegram from the United States Navy Communication Service, relaying the news that the USSR had declared war against Japan (August 9, 1945).

Postwar material includes 2 photograph Christmas cards Sherlock Hibbs received from the Reynolds family of Sapeloe Island, Georgia, in 1947 and 1949, as well as 4 letters from Secretary of the Navy Thomas S. Gates, who thanked Hibbs for providing advice about business opportunities (February 24, 1959-April 29, 1968). Hibbs also received one undated letter from Margaret Durgin.

Two Diaries chronicle the wartime experiences of Sherlock Hibbs, during his service with the United States Navy in both theaters of the war. They are dated June 10, 1942-June 23, 1944, and June 13, 1944-December 11, 1945 (the first 5 pages are dated May 30, 1942). The diaries contain brief daily entries that relate the movements and other actions of Hibbs while onboard the USS Ranger and while working with the navy's flight command. Hibbs served along the East Coast of the United States, in the Mediterranean, and in the Pacific Theater.

The 158-page Personal Military Record of Sherlock Hibbs contains forms, official reports, and other documents pertaining to his service in the United States Navy during World War II and to his time in the United States Naval Reserve until 1968. Early documents relate to his service on the staff of Admiral Calvin T. Durgin and to his actions in the Pacific Theater of the war. Documents include the citation for his Bronze Star award (March 4, 1945, pp. 92-94) and a form authorizing his release from active duty (October 2, 1945, p. 68). Many later items relate to his health and physical fitness.

The Appointments series is comprised of 40 official forms and military documents related to the naval service of Sherlock Hibbs. The material traces his movements with the United States Navy throughout World War II, and includes appointments to different positions, orders to complete temporary duties, and paperwork concerning leaves of absence. The final document of June 8, 1949, signed by Secretary of the Navy Francis P. Matthews, officially appoints Hibbs a commander in the United States Naval Reserve.

• USS Ranger
• Commander Fleet Air, Quonset Point
• USS Tulagi
• USS Makin Island
• Carrier Division 29
• Composite Squadron 84
• Commander Escort Carrier Force, Pacific Fleet
• USS Wright

The 20-item Air Combat Intelligence subseries holds 20 items about intelligence operations related to naval air combat, including a manual for instruction at the Naval Air Combat Intelligence School at Quonset Point, Rhode Island (April 18, 1942), war-era documents requesting intelligence information, and programs and minutes from symposia and advisory meetings held between 1949 and 1953. A photograph of a meeting, held on November 19, 1953, is enclosed with a certificate of attendance for Sherlock Hibbs.

Identification Cards and Ration Book (27 items) include the cover for a World War II ration book for sugar, as well as various identification and business cards used by Sherlock Hibbs before, during, and after his service in the United States Navy. These include official naval identification cards, business cards, identification used while attending certain events, a pay allowances card, an immunization card, and similar items. Also included are a picture postcard from Japan and a business card from the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, as well as a check and a brief note.

The Summaries of Flights subseries is a 135-page report entitled "Ranger Air Group Summary of Flights During Torch Operations November 8-12, 1942" that contains detailed, classified reports on naval air operations carried out by airmen serving on the USS Ranger near North Africa. These included intelligence missions, bombing raids, and scouting trips. The report includes a table of contents and four additional pages of introductory material.

The Military Papers are comprised of 45 miscellaneous documents from Sherlock Hibbs's service in the United States Navy and Naval Reserve. Most items date to World War II, though a few cover his time in the reserves after the war. Items include memoranda, forms, orders, and citations. The series contains a ribbon Hibbs earned for active duty service (February 6, 1945), a copy of a newsletter printed onboard the USS Makin Island (May 8, 1945), a note about Hibbs's qualification for promotion (October 8, 1945), a note regarding his separation from the Naval Service (November 15, 1945), and permanent citations for his Bronze Star (May 21, 1947) and Gold Star (June 10, 1947). Several later documents concern his transfer to the Naval Reserve after the war.

The collection's Photographs cover much of the World War II service of Sherlock Hibbs, including photographs taken on Iwo Jima, various Japanese islands, and in other unidentified tropical locations. The photographs depict naval vessels, such as the USS Makin Island and USS Tulagi, soldiers, and military events. Several show Sherlock Hibbs, including many prints of the ceremony at which he received a medal. Two larger photographs show an airplane catching fire and bursting apart, and one group shows celebrations onboard an unidentified ship, with many soldiers in pirate and other costumes. Though most pictures were taken in the Pacific Theater, others show scenes of destruction in France and Italy in 1944.

• United States dollar issued to forces serving in North Africa
• Philippines
• Japanese invasion money, Pacific Theater
• Egypt
• China
• France
• Italy
• Tripolitania

The Maps subseries holds folded maps of southeast Kansas and of the "Trails of Utah." 7 cloth maps and 2 printed maps show Okinawa, Japan, and several Pacific Islands as they appeared during the Second World War.

The collection's Newspaper Clippings primarily concern United States Navy personnel who served in World War II, including Thomas S. Gates and Calvin T. Durgin. One article mentions business executives serving in the navy, and explicitly refers to Sherlock Hibbs. The series also holds 2 issues of The Stars and Stripes (July 11, 1944 and September 5, 1944), several pages of The Commercial and Financial Chronicle (January 24, 1952), an undated article entitled "A Bachelor's House," and obituaries for Calvin T. Durgin (March 27, 1965) and Sherlock Hibbs (July 8, 2002).

The Ephemera subseries has several types of items, such as pamphlets distributed by Allied forces in Southeast Asia during World War II, Japanese-language pamphlets, a political cartoon, 2 documents related to Sherlock Hibbs's studies at the New York University School of Law in the early 1930s, and "A Minute Review" of "Forever Amber." Also included are a pamphlet entitled "Instructions for Writing the Deck Log," issued for the USS Ranger in September 1942, the copy of The Bluejackets' Manual 1940 that belonged to Sherlock Hibbs, a data table on Japanese combat aircraft (June 1945), and a maneuvering board. A dog tag and uniform insignia identifying Hibbs as a lieutenant commander and commander in the United States Navy are also present, as is a 1 point red "opa" coin.

This collection is made up of letters received by Winifred Hunt of Blair, Oklahoma, during World War II. Calvin C. Farmer, Winifred's boyfriend, wrote about his experiences in the navy and about their relationship.

This collection is made up of 20 letters received by Winifred Hunt of Blair, Oklahoma, during World War II. Winifred's boyfriend, Calvin C. Farmer, wrote 16 letters from the Great Lakes Naval Base in Illinois; the Naval Personnel Distribution Center in Pleasanton, California; and ports such as San Francisco and New Orleans. He often discussed their relationship, apologized for spending time with another woman (February 7, 1943), and anticipated their marriage and wedding night (December 10, 1944). Some of Farmer's letters pertain to his life in the navy, and 4 include humorous and patriotic printed illustrations. Hunt's other correspondents included J. Hutchins at Camp Hood, Texas; a writer who signed himself "J. J."; and a man named "Bobby" at the U.S. Naval Hospital in San Diego, California. Bobby's letter concerns recent marriages in Blair, Oklahoma, and his own secret marriage.