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

This collection contains 201 letters that Lieutenant William P. Jones of Scranton, Pennsylvania, wrote to his wife Ruth while serving on the USS Memphis during World War II. Jones commented on navy life and described his travels in South America, the Caribbean, North Africa, and Europe. The collection also includes navy bulletins and newsletters, an essay, and photographs.

This collection contains 201 letters that Lieutenant William P. Jones of Scranton, Pennsylvania, wrote to his wife Ruth while serving on the USS Memphis during World War II. Jones commented on navy life and his travels in South America, the Caribbean, North Africa, and Europe. The collection also includes navy bulletins and newsletters, an essay, and photographs.

The Correspondence series consists of letters from William P. Jones to his wife Ruth, dated March 8, 1944-October 13, 1945; some of the letters form numbered series, which Jones restarted after his occasional visits home. Jones joined the crew of the Memphis in late March 1944 and remained with the ship until at least October 1945, when he anticipated his return to the United States. He described navy life and some of his travels, though censorship regulations frequently prevented him from sharing his specific location. After censorship restrictions eased in 1945, he recounted his visits to cities in North Africa and Europe, particularly in Italy and France. He also mentioned his leisure activities, which included baseball and shipboard movie screenings.

The Documents, Newsletters, and Writings series contains printed and manuscript materials. Two sets of daily orders issued in March 1944 and an intelligence report dated March 25, 1944, relate to the USS Antaeus. A menu for a dinner onboard the Memphis on July 4, 1944, is illustrated with a drawing of the ship, and the ship's daily orders for December 25, 1944, are illustrated with a picture of a sleeping sailor dreaming of Christmas morning at home. The series also includes a printed program for a religious service (July 9, 1944) and undated orders for United States Navy sailors arriving at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The series contains 2 undated manuscript items: a set of notes about malaria and a "Dissertation on Reporting to a U.S. Navy Ship."

The Photographs series is comprised of 18 black-and-white snapshots depicting Naples, Rome, and Pompeii, Italy; Cannes, France; Admiral Henry Kent Hewitt; and United States Navy personnel. One picture shows a Christmas party held onboard the USS Memphis. Some photographs are mounted on thicker stock, with printed details about their locations.