Collections

This diary recounts the World War I experiences of Joseph Eve, who served in Battery F of the 101st Field Artillery Regiment during the final months of the war. Eve described his experiences at training sites in the United States, as well as while traveling through France during the months immediately following the war.

This 34-page diary, titled "My Diary while in the Army," recounts Joseph Eve's experiences with Battery F of the Battery F of the 101st Field Artillery Regiment during the final months of World War I. The volume, a running narrative, covers the entirety of Eve's military experiences, beginning with his departure from Salt Lake City on September 2, 1918, and concluding with his return on April 25, 1919. Eve first traveled to Camp Lewis, Washington, where he was formally inducted into the Army, and transferred to Fort Stevens, Oregon, on September 26. While in training, he reported frequent drilling, discussed some of his equipment, and reflected on his cross-country travels. He kept a list of major cities he traveled through both on his way to Oregon and between Oregon and Camp Merritt, New Jersey, where he embarked for Europe on the President Grant around October 28. After writing about the trip, during which a torpedo hit the President Grant's sister ship, the President Lincoln, Eve described the celebrations in France on Armistice Day, when he first arrived in the country.

The remainder of the diary concerns his movements throughout France in the following months. Eve often expressed his displeasure with the accommodations at French camps, and occasionally mentioned performing training exercises with trench mortars. At one camp, he saw a group of German prisoners of war; at another, he encountered veterans who laughed at his unit's prospects of becoming an occupation force. He also visited Paris and described the soldiers and ordnance around Metz, France, before returning to the United States onboard the Mongolia in April 1919. Eve's diary ends with his arrival in Salt Lake City on April 25, one day after his discharge from the Army at Fort Russell, Wyoming.

The final pages of the volume contain additional material, including 2 pages of financial accounts, a list of food items, and a 4-page list of cities Eve traveled through on his way from Shirley, Massachusetts, to Granger, Wyoming. Two pages contain rough sketches of the insignia of 42 infantry divisions of the United States Army, arranged in a grid according to divisional numbers. A ticket for the Paris Métropolitain and a contract between Joseph Bannister and Joseph Eve, granting Eve a lease on Bannister's farm in Grace, Idaho (October 1, 1916), are laid into the volume between the front cover and first page.

The Julius Bromet papers are made up of letters, postcards, and a diary that Bromet wrote while serving with the 305th Field Hospital (later the 305th Ambulance Company) during World War I. In his letters to his parents and brother, Bromet described his experiences at Camp Upton, New York, and in France; his diary pertains to his time in France during and after the war. The collection has four photographs.

The Julius Bromet papers are contains 145 letters and postcards and a diary that Bromet wrote while serving with the 305th Field Hospital (later the 305th Ambulance Company) at Camp Upton, New York, and in France during and after World War I. The collection also has 4 photographs: 2 photographs attached to the letter of December 7, 1917, and 2 in a separate series.

The Correspondence series consists of 145 letters and from Julius Bromet to his parents, Solomon and Annie Bromet; his brother, Louis Bromet; and "Minnie and Baby;" all letters were sent to his father's home in Brooklyn, New York. From March 7, 1917, to March 14, 1917, and again from December 9, 1917, to April 2, 1918, he wrote from Camp Upton on Long Island, New York, about his training and equipment. He also related rumors of his unit's upcoming transfer to Europe. After a brief period with the 152nd Depot Brigade in December 1917, Bromet returned to the 305th Field Hospital, which traveled to France via England in April 1918. In one 10-page letter from April 1918, he described his transatlantic voyage.

After his arrival in France around April 21, 1918, Bromet wrote about aspects of life near the front, including his account of witnessing a German and French "aeroplane fight" (July 26, 1918), and reported rumors that an armistice was imminent. After the war, he was stationed near Chaumont and Solesmes, France, where he described the scenery and conveyed the pleasures of sleep unhindered by the sounds of airplane raids and machine guns (November 12, 1918), though he admitted having an eerie feeling about the silence (November 14, 1918). He left France in May 1919. Two photographs of a soldier are enclosed in his letter of December 5, 1918. Illustrated postcards of various French scenes; new recruits at Camp Upton, New York (4 items, December 4, 1917); and several uniformed soldiers (3 items, undated). Bromet's co-workers sent him a postcard wishing him a safe return from the war (December 7, 1917).

Julius S. Bromet kept a Diary (53 pages) between April 6, 1918, and May 7, 1919, during his service in France. In daily entries, he noted the weather and interesting occurrences, such as a burial at sea during the voyage to France (April 18, 1918) and a close encounter with falling shrapnel (May 9, 1918). He also witnessed occasional air raids and unfavorably compared U.S. Army quarters to British quarters. He wrote his final entry just after arriving in Hoboken, New Jersey, on May 7, 1919, and expected to be mustered out within the next two days; he wrote down "Thurs May 8" but did not complete the entry. The diary also contains addresses and a list of letters that Bromet mailed home.

The Photographs series includes a portrait of a soldier, which is housed in a frame with the word "Welcome," illustrations of American flags, and the date (May 10, 1919), and a picture of a man and three women in a domestic environment. Two additional photographs are attached to the letter of December 5, 1918.

This scrapbook contains correspondence, photographs, newspaper clippings, and ephemera related to the soldiers' canteen that Katharine G. Prest hosted at her home in Lancaster, Massachusetts, between June 1941 and August 1945.

This scrapbook contains around 120 pages of correspondence, photographs, newspaper clippings, and ephemera related to the soldiers' canteen that Katharine G. Prest hosted at her home in Lancaster, Massachusetts, between June 1941 and August 1945.

Soldiers stationed throughout the United States and in both major theaters of war frequently wrote to Prest, expressing their gratitude for her hospitality and sometimes reporting on their experiences after leaving Massachusetts; soldiers' wives and mothers occasionally thanked Prest as well. Emily J. Nichols, who worked for the American Red Cross at Fort Devens, corresponded with Prest about upcoming events for wounded men. The servicemen sent manuscript letters, V-mail letters, postcards, and Christmas cards. Many of the postcards include cartoons and other illustrations, most frequently regarding military life. Snapshots and formal portraits show groups of young men and women relaxing at the Prests' home, often near the pool, and soldiers in uniform at various locations.

Prest collected newspaper clippings about her wartime activities and about the war, particularly related to soldiers' experiences in the European Theater. Some clippings include photographs of Prest. The scrapbook contains a small number of printed programs, song lyrics, insignia patches, and a pin from the 101st Cavalry Regiment. One page consists of several soldiers' drawings, including a caricature of Adolf Hitler with target values printed on various parts of his body. A colored illustration commemorating the 101st Cavalry Regiment and several portraits of unidentified individuals are drawn directly into the volume. Later items include awards and certificates of thanks that Prest received from various organizations (undated, WWII era), an award celebrating her commitment to fighting cancer (1951), and a birth announcement (written on a photograph) (January 25, 1954).

Two items pre-date United States involvement in the war: a 1930 group photograph of the "Lawyer's Club" (including William M. Preston), and a 1940 book entitled Yuletide in Many Lands.

This collection contains 10 letters that Lee and Grace De Graff and their son, Lee De Graff, Jr., received from men serving in the United States Armed Forces during and just after the Second World War.

This collection contains 10 letters that Lee and Grace De Graff and their son, Lee De Graff, Jr., received from members of the United States Armed Forces during and just after the Second World War. The first items are a letter in which Private Frederick T. Davis commented on machine gun training at the Air Forces Technical School at Lowry Field, Colorado (January 2, 1942), and a letter from Staff Sergeant Buddy Montana, a relative of the De Graff family, about his busy schedule and his correspondence habits (January 27, 1944).

The De Graffs' nephew, sailor Hugh Brown ("Hughie"), wrote 5 letters while stationed on P.C. 494 and serving in the Philippines from June 1944-April 1946. He requested information about family members in New York and provided his impressions of the Philippines; in one letter to Lee De Graff, Jr., Brown described local women (June 9, 1945). In another letter, he commented on the recent success of the New York Yankees, whom he followed while recovering from tonsillitis in a Brooklyn hospital, enclosing 5 humorous (unrelated) cartoons (April 6, 1946). By the end of the war, Brown was stationed in Subic Bay, Luzon, and intended to return home and marry a woman named Peggy (undated).

Lee and Grace De Graff also received a letter and a Christmas card from Private William W. Kosboth of the 304th Medical Battalion, as well as a V-mail letter from William H. Whipple, who included a Christmas card from the 14th Air Force ([1945]). The final item is a typed speech by M. A. De Graff urging donations for the Second Red Cross War Fund (undated).

This collection consists of 17 letters Marinus Heyboer wrote to his brother Harry while training with the United States Army's 308th Field Artillery Regiment and 310th Field Hospital at Camp Dix, New Jersey, between February and April 1918. Heyboer discussed his training exercises, food, and other aspects of military life, in addition to responding to news of Harry's wife and young child.

This collection consists of 17 letters Marinus Heyboer wrote to his brother Harry while training with the United States Army's 308th Field Artillery Regiment and 310th Field Hospital at Camp Dix, New Jersey, between February and April 1918. Heyboer discussed his training exercises, food, and other aspects of military life, in addition to responding to news of Harry's wife and young child.

Marinus composed 7 dated letters at Camp Dix between February 23, 1918, and late April 1918, as well as 10 undated letters covering the period between his arrival at Camp Dix and his departure for Europe. After initially joining Battery B of the 308th Field Artillery Regiment, Heyboer began medical training with the 310th Field Hospital. He told Harry about several training exercises, such as drilling, attending lectures, practicing with field guns, and experiencing gas in the "gas chambers." He also commented on his experiences with horses, which included cleaning up after the animals and witnessing a fatal accident. Heyboer frequently responded to news of his parents and inquired about Harry's wife and baby, Marie and Harry Jr. In one letter, he described two African American regiments that were also training at Camp Dix (March 16, 1918).

This collection is made up of over 100 letters that Jewish Corporal Milton Schneider wrote to his girlfriend, Miriam Tarlow of Brooklyn, New York, while serving in the United States Army during World War II. He wrote about their relationship and about his experiences in Hawaii and Saipan.

This collection is made up of over 100 letters that Jewish Corporal Milton Schneider wrote to his girlfriend, Miriam Tarlow of Brooklyn, New York, while serving in the United States Army during World War II. He wrote about their relationship and about his experiences in Hawaii and Saipan.

Schneider's letters, dated October 27, 1943-June 3, 1945, cover his time in Hawaii (October 1943-July 1944) and Saipan (July 1944-June 1945) as a member of the 103rd Ordnance Company. He wrote about his love for Tarlow and anticipated their possible marriage after his return to the United States. While in Hawaii, he noted the monotony of military life but mentioned his leisure activities, such as attending football games. He also responded to Tarlow's news of her life in Brooklyn. After Schneider's arrival on Saipan, he complained about the living conditions and shared anecdotes about some of his experiences, such as a tent-mate's capture of a Japanese soldier. One V-mail message from Schneider to Tarlow is a hand-drawn Rosh Hashanah greeting, with some text in Hebrew (September 1944). Particularly after Schneider’s deployment to Saipan, many of the envelopes contain multiple letters, and occasionally Schneider made other enclosures, such as a blank Japanese postcard and a newspaper clipping on the "Hillercopter" in two letter bundles from September 1944. Miriam Tarlow also received V-mail messages from Orlando Coppola of the 75th Engineer Light Pontoon Company (March 5, 1944) and military chaplain Joseph H. Lief. Other items are a telegram from Schneider (September 30, 1943) and Miriam's membership card for the Union Health Center.

This collection contains around 150 incoming letters that Miriam Kline of New York City received from men serving in the United States Armed Forces throughout World War II. They described their experiences and exercises at army training camps and other military bases within the United States.

This collection contains around 150 incoming letters that Miriam Kline of New York City received from men serving in the United States Armed Forces throughout World War II. They described their experiences and exercises at army training camps and other military bases within the United States. She also wrote 2 letters and sent 2 Christmas cards to soldiers.

Sergeant Walter C. Jessel and Private David W. Hoefer wrote most of the earlier letters between July 1941 and June 1942. Jessel, a friend, shared his experiences in the army both before and shortly after the Pearl Harbor attacks, and Hoefer often wrote Miriam about his life in the army and about his affection for her, though he wrote less frequently after she declined his romantic advances in mid-June 1942. Throughout the war, Kline continued to receive letters from Jessel, Hoefer, and 14 other servicemen, primarily from bases in the United States. They described many aspects of everyday life in the army, army air forces, and coast guard.

Enclosures include 3 photographs of Walter C. Jessel in uniform, newspaper clippings, and humorous cartoons. Jessel drew a picture of his transport train in his letter postmarked October 13, 1941. Later items include letters that Miriam wrote to Jessel and to Lieutenant R. H. Davis in 1945, as well as Christmas cards she sent to Davis and to Allan Isakson.

This collection is made up of letters that Phyllis Okoniewski of Buffalo, New York, wrote and received during World War II. She corresponded with servicemen in multiple branches of the United States Armed Forces during the early years of the war, and wrote over 150 letters to her future husband, Richard J. Szymczak, from September 1943-May 1945.

This collection is made up of approximately 200 letters that Phyllis Okoniewski of Buffalo, New York, wrote and received during World War II, 4 manuscript writings, and 6 newspaper clippings..

The Correspondence series consists of Phyllis Okoniewski's incoming and outgoing letters. From February 1941-August 1943, Okoniewski received over 40 letters from members of the United States Army, United States Army Air Forces, and United States Navy. They wrote about aspects of military life at bases such as Camp McClellan, Alabama; Camp Croft, South Carolina; Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida; Camp Pickett, Virginia; Seymour Johnson Field, North Carolina; Sampson Naval Training Station, New Jersey; Camp Gordon, Georgia; and South Kelly Field, Texas. The servicemen discussed their classes, possible assignments, daily routine, and leisure activities. Okoniewski occasionally composed drafts of letters to these soldiers, in which she discussed her life in Buffalo, New York. The bulk of the series (over 150 items) is comprised of Okoniewski's letters to her future husband, Richard Szymczak, between September 1943 and May 1945. She commented on news from home, activities with members of the Okoniewski and Szymczak families, her senior prom, and her love for Szymczak.

The Writings series (4 items) contains 2 drafts of an explicit poem about Adam and Eve, a recipe for "love cake," a parody of Longfellow's poem "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere," and a typed joke about married women.

Five of the six Newspaper clippings relate to the Buffalo Bisons hockey team during the war. One of these lists war casualties from western New York on the reverse side. The sixth clipping is an image of members of the 95th Signal Company, 3rd Division, United States Army, surrounding a cow.

This collection consists of letters that Lieutenant Randal H. Crouse wrote to his mother, Lillie M. Crouse, while serving with the American Expeditionary Forces during World War I. Crouse described his experiences at Camp Hancock, Georgia, and in France, where he often commented on life near the front. The collection also has postcards, documents, photographs, and newspaper clippings.

This collection contains 85 letters that Lieutenant Randal H. Crouse wrote to his mother, Lillie M. Crouse, while serving with the American Expeditionary Forces during World War I. The collection also has 4 letters by other writers, 9 postcards, 4 documents, 15 photographs, and 29 newspaper clippings (including 7 duplicates) related to Crouse's time in the military.

The Correspondence series (89 items) comprises the bulk of the collection and consists mostly of the letters that Randal Crouse sent to his divorced mother, Lillie M. Crouse, from Camp Hancock, Georgia, and France between September 1917 and April 1919. At Camp Hancock, he discussed the reorganization of his Pennsylvania National Guard unit into the 112th Infantry Regiment and mentioned several specific training exercises, including some involving gas masks (January 27, 1918). He described other aspects of camp and military life and, upon his arrival in France around May 1918, provided his impressions of the scenery and people, as well as descriptions of his experiences at the front. Soon after his arrival, he reported hearing nearby artillery fire and shared his awe at the multicultural makeup of the allied forces, which included soldiers from a number of foreign countries (May 27, 1918). Though he remained optimistic about the war's imminent end, Crouse mentioned his participation in some difficult fighting, credited the Germans with putting up a strong resistance, and described airplane crashes he had witnessed (August 17, 1918). By October 30, 1918, he expressed his relief at being transferred to a safer area following weeks of hard fighting, and on November 3, 1918, he described a one-day visit to Paris.

Following the signing of the Armistice, Crouse revealed more details about military actions he had participated in, including movements near Metz, and expressed his surprise upon hearing of the large scale of the influenza epidemic, from which the war had distracted him. In his letter of December 4, 1918, he copied several pages from a captured German diary that described the advance on Paris in September 1914; the letter also encloses a printed map of a portion of the Western Front near the end of the war. Throughout the spring of 1919, Crouse continued to discuss his travels through France and his anticipation of a return to the United States.

The series has 4 letters by other correspondents, including 3 by Lillie M. Crouse, who wrote a letter to her son while he attended a summer camp (July 13, 1908), prematurely reported Germany's surrender (November 7, 1918), and expressed her wish for military volunteers to displace active service veterans (March 31, 1919). Jordy L. Stafer, a soldier, also wrote a letter to Lillie M. Crouse, whom he knew from York (October 9, 1918).

The Postcards and Greeting Card series (7 items) contains mail that Randal Crouse sent to his mother during the war. The postcards show scenery in Germany and in Glasgow, Scotland, and one is a photographic postcard of Crouse in uniform. The Christmas card has a drawing of an American soldier reading with a young girl.

Documents (4 items) include a memorandum by W. H. Hay commending the service of the 28th Division of the United States Army, as well as 2 items related to the allotment of Randal Crouse's pay to his mother. Also present is a photographic card identifying Crouse as a member of the American Expeditionary Forces.

The Photographs series (15 items) has 6 snapshots of soldiers, including 2 taken in front of a cannon; 2 larger formal portraits of Randal H. Crouse; and 7 small snapshots of a soldier smoking a cigar and an old European building.

Newspaper clippings (29 items) primarily concern the actions of the 28th Division of the United States Army, including several reprinted letters that Randal Crouse sent to his mother while serving overseas, taken from the Gazette and Daily (York, Pa.) and other papers. Seven of the items are duplicates.

This collection is made up of over 280 letters that Sergeant Randall M. Stine wrote to his parents and siblings in Portland, Pennsylvania, while serving in the United States Army during World War II. Stine wrote about camp life in the United States and about his experiences in North Africa and Italy.

This collection is made up of over 280 letters that Sergeant Randall M. Stine wrote to his parents and siblings in Portland, Pennsylvania, while serving with the United States Army during World War II. Stine wrote home regularly from October 22, 1942-August 13, 1945, with a few gaps during periods of travel. His first letters concern his arrival and experiences at Camp Pickett, Virginia, and Fort Knox, Kentucky, where he was trained as a cook. He shared his impressions of the South, fellow soldiers, and camp life. In December 1942, he sent illustrated Christmas cards to his sisters.

After his arrival in North Africa, Stine wrote every few days about his work at the 105th Station Hospital; he continued to cook for staff and patients following the hospital's relocation to Italy in 1944. On one occasion, he complained about the soldiers' mealtime behavior. In his spare time, Stine read magazines, played checkers, watched movies, and attended USO shows. In one letter from mid-1945, he discussed his visit to a rest camp in Rome, and on August 11, 1945, he reported the news of the Japanese surrender offer.