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

This collection is made up of Robert Preston's letters to his parents about his service in the United States Navy during World War II. Preston repaired aircraft and supervised metal shops at the Norfolk Air Station and on Chincoteague Island, Virginia.

This collection (87 items) contains 83 letters, 1 postcard, and 1 telegram that Robert Preston sent to his mother and stepfather, Eva and Frank Lakewitz of Baltimore, Maryland, from March 5, 1942-April 20, 1943, while serving in the United States Navy, as well as 1 letter from his wife Dotty (April 24, 1942). The final item is a photographic greeting card with an informal portrait of a man and woman (January 10, 1945).

Robert Preston wrote about his arrival at Norfolk, Virginia; his work repairing airplanes and supervising metal shops at Norfolk Air Station and Chincoteague Island, Virginia; and other aspects of his daily life. He sometimes mentioned his wife and their young daughter Mary Jane. In his letter of September 5, 1942, he noted that some money had been stolen out of his wallet, and, on September 19, 1942, he reported that the culprit had been dishonorably discharged and sentenced to 5 years in prison. Preston occasionally flew in military aircraft. He described fatal crashes in his letters of November 15, 1942; February 21, 1943; and April 4, 1943.

Preston wrote 2 early letters on stationery with printed paintings of navy vessels and aircraft and sent his mother an illustrated Mother's Day telegram from Western Union (undated). Some of his letters and envelopes have cartoonish drawings of sailors or other men (December 29, 1942, et al.). He drew a diagram of part of a car (October 22, 1942) and a picture of an airplane instrument he built (October 26, 1942).

The Jennie Nutter correspondence contains letters that Nutter's former students wrote to her about their service in the United States Army, Army Air Forces, Navy, and Marine Corps during World War II.

This collection contains 141 letters that Jennie L. Nutter, a teacher at the Good Will-Hinckley school in Fairfield, Maine, received from former students about their service in the United States Armed Forces from March 1940-October 1945. Nutter's correspondents, who were members of the United States Army, United States Army Air Forces, United States Marine Corps, and United States Navy, served at bases throughout the United States, including many in California, as well as in the European and Pacific Theaters. They described their training, coursework, and military life, such as a navy drill that tested sailors' response time for a simulated disaster (May 14, 1940). Many expressed gratitude for Nutter's instruction in subjects such as Latin and French; one letter is written in Latin (March 30, 1940). Others discussed their reading material, reminisced about their time at the school, inquired about Nutter's mother ("Ma" or "Ma Smith"), and referred to their correspondence with fellow Good Will alumni; one letter is addressed directly to "Ma." A few writers mention travels to locations such as Hawaii, Italy, and England, and offer opinions on the war. The collection includes manuscript and typed letters, V-mail letters, a greeting card, and a postcard. Clarence Perry enclosed programs from an Easter service at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Sacramento, California, in his letters of April 6, 1944, and April 10, 1944.

This collection is made up of military documents, photographs, and ephemera related to Lieutenant Elizabeth Bonney van den Bosch's service in the United States Navy and Naval Reserve during and after World War II.

The Documents series (15 items) contains official military records from Bonney's service in the United States Navy and Naval Reserve. They relate to her training at the United States Naval Reserve Midshipmen's School at Smith College and the Naval Training School at Mount Holyoke College; her promotions to ensign and lieutenant; and her formal resignation from the naval reserve in 1951. Also included are an identification card verifying her active duty in the United States Navy and certificates acknowledging her military participation in World War II.

Photographs (11 items) include black-and-white portraits of Elizabeth Bonney and other women in naval uniforms. Govert van den Bosch sent Bonney pictures portraying soldiers and a military funeral from his service in Indonesia with the Royal Netherlands Marines.

The Printed Materials series (6 items) consists of commencement programs for the United States Naval Reserve Midshipmen's School and the Naval Training School for communications, a commemorative book with photographs of navy officers in training at the Midshipmen's School, and a page from the Sundial with humorous cartoons and quips. Two items form 2002 are a printed poem dedicated to the memory of Elizabeth Bonney van den Bosch and her obituary from the Ann Arbor News.

This collection is made up of diaries, correspondence, documents, scrapbooks, photo albums, negatives, yearbooks, awards, artifacts, and regalia of career U.S. Navy officer David Nash. Much of the content relates to Lieutenant Nash's naval career and his time as a prisoner of war in the Pacific during World War II.

This collection is made up of diaries, correspondence, documents, scrapbooks, photo albums, negatives, yearbooks, awards, artifacts, and regalia of career U.S. Navy officer David Nash. Much of the content relates to Lieutenant Nash's naval career and his time as a prisoner of war in the Pacific during World War II.

The Diaries include two volumes (380 pages) by David Nash, detailing his experiences as a prisoner of war for over three and a half years during World War II. These are illustrated copies made after the war from original diaries and notes (one of his shipmates buried the first portion of the original diary in a 5-gallon tin can on Luzon in order to recover it later). Lieut. Nash's almost daily entries reveal his activities, health, mentality and moods, plus information on the activity around him and any rumors or gossip. Most entries conclude with a note to his "darlings," his wife Honoria and daughter Julie. Detailed illustrations of the prison camps and ships appear throughout the diaries. Nash also included relevant drawings in the margins (guards, a shower, turkey dinner, himself reading, playing cards, etc.).

The first diary is an alphabet-sectioned ledger with 300 lined pages, covering December 1, 1941, to May 29, 1944. It also contains lists of USS Mindanao personnel and occupants of Barrack #9 Camp. The diary opens with two watercolor maps of the China Sea entitled "Cruise of U.S.S. Mindanao, 1941" and "Corregidor and Vicinity, 1942." David Nash described his time on Mindanao, stationed at Corregidor during its surrender and capture by the Japanese forces, and as a prisoner of war at Bilibid Prison, Cabanatuan, USAFFE Camp 91st Division, a second time at Bilibid Prison, and the Davao Penal Colony.

The second diary has 80 lined pages and spans October 13, 1944, to October 10, 1944. This volume continues Nash's account of life as a prisoner of war. He described his experiences on the hell ship Oryoku Maru, at Hoten Camp in Mukden, Manchuria, and during the camp's liberation on August 19, 1945.

The Naval Documents, Correspondence and Articles series contains letters, reports, newspaper clippings, personal notes, awards, an illustration, and ephemera relating to David Nash's naval career and POWs in general; the bulk of which ranges between 1934 and 2005. A portion of the documents in this series relate to the family of a fellow naval officer named Heisinger.

• USS Hornet files: Nash's correspondence requesting aircraft reports, aircraft action reports from the Hornet's carrier air group 11 bombing the hell ships Nash was held on, and Hornet Club ephemera, 1944-1945, 1972-2000.
• Prisoner of War files: Nash's postwar correspondence with a fellow POW, who wrote on the band and entertainers at one of Nash's camps. Other papers include reports on how to survive as a prisoner of war, healthcare for survivors, articles relating to prisoners of war, pamphlets on American Japanese internment camps and the misuse of the term 'internment,' and Nash's personal notes, 1972-2008.
• Heisinger files: Correspondence between the Heisinger family and David Nash, printed materials relating to World War II, official Navy photographs, and personal photographs.
• Awards and Commendations: Awards given to David Nash by the Navy and the President of the United States and correspondence upon his retirement from the Navy.
• Illustration of USS Mindanao
• Map of a Western Pacific Cruise and a pin-up.

The Scrapbooks series consists of two scrapbooks.

• [Personal Moments, 1928-1948]. This scrapbook tracks David and Honoria's life from high school until 1948. Much of it focuses on David Nash's career and his time as a prisoner of war. It contains photographs, newspaper clippings, letters, awards, telegrams, and ephemera, with captions or notes on most pages. Of particular note are letters and telegrams to Honoria Nash from the Navy informing her on her husband's status as missing and later as prisoner of war.
• "Scrapbook, Hong Kong 1939-Dec. 1964." This scrapbook primarily traces David Nash's naval career through photographs, newspaper clippings, invitations, and ephemera from 1939 to 1964. It includes a few references to his wife Honoria's volunteer work and his daughter Julie's engagement.

The Photographs series contains four photo albums and many negatives.

Subseries: Photo Albums

• "Aug. 1939 to 1941 En Route and at Hong Kong." This album consists of personal photographs from David and Honoria's honeymoon in the Grand Canyon in 1939, their travels to Hong Kong by way of San Francisco and Honolulu, life in Hong Kong up until the evacuation of dependents in 1940 and his assignment on USS Mindanao in 1941. Other locations photographed include Kowloon, Shameen, Canton, and New Territories. Each page is captioned with a date and/or description. Also included in this album is an envelope with duplicates and a telegram to David Nash's father informing him that his son's name was on a list of personnel at Camp Hoten in Mukden, Manchuria.
• [Navy Photos, 1952-1960]. This album contains 40 photographs from 1952 to 1960, highlighting various events in David Nash's career, changes in command, reunions, an inspection trip, and naval ceremonies. It also includes individual and group portraits with fellow officers and staff. Some photographs include descriptions and dates.
• [Navy Photos, 1960-1961, 1966]. This album is comprised of U.S. Navy photographs, largely from the period of David Nash's Naval Intelligence posting. Additional images include aerial photographs, Navy ships, two postcards from 1966, a Navy certificate, and an envelope containing miscellaneous negatives and photographs. Many of the photographs include notes with names and descriptions.
• "Navy 1959-1965." This album consists of personal photographs from David Nash's Navy assignments. The three primary groupings include "Corregidor & Ft. Hughes 1959," "Comdesron 5 Deployment 1960," and "District Intelligence Officer 1961-65." Locations featured are Thailand (including Bangkok), Singapore, Saigon, Philippine Islands, Hong Kong, and California. Most photographs include notes on locations and names.

Subseries: Negatives. This subseries contains negatives from photographs of wide-ranging dates and topics, all related to David Nash's personal life and career.

The Yearbooks series contains four Lucky Bag United States Naval Academy yearbooks from 1932, 1933, 1934, and a 50 Year Rendezvous USNA-1935 anniversary yearbook.

The Artifacts and Regalia series contains objects from David Nash's career including his desk name plate, two plaques, a naval uniform belt, a bronze star, dog tags, and various other uniform accessories (ribbons, medals, pins, buttons, etc.).