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

The Charles J. and Jean C. Molnar correspondence largely consists of letters that Molnar and his wife, Jean Corser, received during his service in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II, including between each other, Corporal Molnar's notes and paper souvenirs he mailed home to himself. The collection also contains small groups of photographs, ephemera, and printed materials.

The Charles J. and Jean C. Molnar correspondence (2 linear feet) largely consists of over 570 letters received by Molnar and his wife, Jean Corser, during his service in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. Other items include small groups of photographs, ephemera, and printed materials.

The Correspondence series (over 650 items) contains personal letters addressed to Charles J. and Jean Corser Molnar during the World War II era. The first item is a letter and contract regarding Corser's teaching career in Kimball, Minnesota, with a stipulation that marriage would void the agreement (August 10, 1939). The remaining correspondence is dated July 8, 1943-October 3, 1945, covering much of Charles Molnar's service in the United States and India. The majority of items are letters between Charles and Jean Molnar concerning his experiences during intelligence training in Utah; his life in Greensboro, North Carolina, while awaiting deployment; and his service in India. He commented on his courses, his leisure activities, the scenery, and the end of the war; after the birth of his daughter, he responded to news of her growth and addressed some of his correspondence directly to her. In 1943, he occasionally wrote brief diary-like notes about his daily life, sometimes on patriotic or military stationery. At least two of his envelopes bear cartoonish ink drawings of soldiers.

Jean Corser Molnar frequently wrote to her husband throughout his war service, sharing news of family and friends and providing updates about her daughter during her pregnancy and after Mary Ann's birth, some written as though they were from Mary Ann. She also received letters from her mother, female friends, and various family members. Additional correspondence includes a pamphlet about Catholicism that Charles sent to Erma Molnar (September 18, 1943) and letters to Charles Molnar from Dave Corser, one of Jean's young relatives. One family member sent Charles a birthday card in October 1943 with a drawing of a young African American child enjoying cake and a linguistically stylized message. Jean sometimes enclosed newspaper clippings and, on at least one occasion, photographs in her letters (July 6, 1945).

Between August 1944 and January 1945, Charles Molnar sent at least 30 notes and letters home to himself, frequently enclosing souvenir ephemera. Enclosed materials ranged from printed fliers on "How to Pray the Rosary" and Rev. Gerald Treacy's "The Soldier Saint : Ignatius Loyola" to matchbook covers, tickets, a coupon booklet for the "Enlisted Men's Club," cards for the "Victory Service Club," temporary passes, baggage tags, first aid for gas exposure cards, American Red Cross M&M packaging, and other items.

The Photographs series contains nine black-and-white photographs of United States servicemen and military planes. Two pictures showing the 82nd Squadron, 12th Bomb Group are labeled. Also present is a small handmade book with captioned photographs of Mary Ann Molnar as a baby.

The Poetry, Cards, and Ephemera series (10 items) includes a handkerchief with an air force logo pressed on it, Hilliard L. Gandy's membership card for the Army Air Forces Aid Society, a 2-page draft of a poem, a Hoadley's Aircraft Quarter Pound Block Chocolate wrapper, a ticket stub for travel between Calcutta and Chandmari, India, and 5 Christmas cards. Three of the Christmas cards present greetings from the John Corser family of Peoria, Illinois, with line drawings of the family home and Christmas bells; one is signed by the Elks of Barberton, Ohio; and one from the 82nd Bombardment Squadron has colored insignias of several air force units.

Printed Items (5 items) consist of a pamphlet with censorship regulations for United States soldiers serving overseas (2 copies, July 29, 1943), an article about the United States Army Air Forces reprinted from Yank ("Earthquakers' Odyssey," December 9, 1944), an additional undated newspaper clipping, and a pamphlet welcoming soldiers to Greensboro, North Carolina.

This collection consists of the contents of a scrapbook kept by Effie M. Conroy of the Bronx, New York, who documented the army service of her son, Edwin F. Conroy, a member of the 114th Infantry Regiment during World War I. The scrapbook contains correspondence, newspaper clippings, and ephemera related to Conroy, to the 114th Infantry Regiment, and to the 29th "Blue and Gray" Division.

This collection consists of a 54-page scrapbook and 24 related items kept by Effie M. Conroy of the Bronx, New York, who documented the army service of her son Edwin, a member of the 114th Infantry Regiment during World War I. The first pages of the scrapbook mainly hold newspaper clippings, including a collection of humorous anecdotes from Conroy's time working as an attaché at the West Farms Court and later articles documenting the 114th Infantry Regiment and the 29th Division. These clippings, though undated, concern the infantry's service throughout and just after the war, and one item from the Bronx Home News relates Effie's thoughts upon hearing that Edwin had been wounded (p. 13). Several other clippings contain poetry, including a sheet of contributions by soldiers (p. 16), and one is a comic strip about service at the front lines (p. 19).

Correspondence includes a printed letter from Corporal Jos. H. Shea describing his journey to France onboard the SS Princess Matoika (p. 3), a printed letter from General John J. Pershing thanking soldiers for their service (p. 5), and many letters that Conroy wrote to his mother while in training at Camp McClellan, Alabama. Between May and June 1918, Conroy described his railroad journeys to the base, his life at the camp, and his journey to his unit's embarkation point at Newport News, Virginia. While in training, he discussed his daily activities and his anticipated voyage overseas. He wrote one letter on YMCA stationery with a letterhead composed of photographs (p. 29), and two of his postcards depict scenes from Camp McClellan. Though most of his letters date to his time in training, Conroy wrote later letters to Anna Gernand, with whom he shared his impressions of destruction near the front (p. 53), and to his aunt and mother.

Most ephemera items are printed programs, though the collection also holds a pamphlet of songs sung by the American Expeditionary Forces (p. 53) and a medal citation for service in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive (loose ephemera). One program relates to event honoring General Ferdinand Foch in 1921 (loose ephemera).

The Jack Keenan World War II Sketches are a collection of over 150 pieces of original art, in the mediums of pencil, pen and watercolor, created by John “Jack” Keenan during his service with the Seventh Armored Division, Third Army, under General George C. Patton. The collection contains scenes from the daily lives of soldiers in this division and chronicles Keenan’s experiences from the beginning of his training at Camp Polk in Louisiana, through his service in Europe and finally his trip back to the United States following the Allied victory.

The contents of this collection correspond with John “Jack” Keenan’s service in the Seventh Armored Division, Third Army, during World War II, from 1941 to 1945. Included are sketches of military personnel, living quarters, landscape vistas, battlefields, weaponry, military transportation, urban scenes, ruins, civilians, prisoners of war, and other topics. Specific locations depicted in these sketches include the states of Louisiana, California, Arizona, Georgia and the countries of England, France, Belgium, Germany, Poland and Scotland.

This collection is made up of letters that Robert Pate wrote to his wife Fern about his United States Army service in Wyoming, the Hawaiian Islands, and Saipan during World War II, as well as a newsletter. Most of Pate's correspondence concerns his love for Fern and their relationship.

The Robert Pate correspondence is made up of 34 letters that Pate wrote to his wife Fern while serving in the United States Army during World War II, and a newsletter. Pate wrote 4 letters from Fort F. E. Warren, Wyoming (November 29, 1942-January 25, 1943); 5 letters from Oahu, Hawaii (February 21, 1944-April 21, 1944); and 25 letters from the Pacific Theater, mainly Saipan ([June 28, 1944]; November 12, 1944-September 20, 1945). Pate's love letters primarily concern his romantic feelings for his wife and his thoughts about their relationship. He expressed his doubts about Fern's fidelity to him in a letter of January 25, 1943, but later chastised himself for his feelings of jealousy; he also discussed his own needs, though he assured his fidelity to his wife. He briefly referred to his living conditions, health, and optimism about the war, and encouraged Fern not to worry about his safety. The collection includes an issue of The Daily Target, a newsletter for United States servicemen in the Mariana Islands (May 25, 1945). The newsletter contains articles, one-panel comics, photographs, and a map of Allied progress in the Pacific.

The Solinske-Walter correspondence is primarily made up of letters that Sergeant James Solinske exchanged with his fiancée, Virginia Walter, while serving in England with the 52nd General Hospital during World War II.

The Solinske-Walter correspondence is primarily made up of letters that Sergeant James Solinske exchanged with his fiancée, Virginia Walter ("Ginny"), while serving in England with the 52nd General Hospital during World War II.

The Correspondence series, which comprises the bulk of the collection, consists of the couple's almost-daily letters to one another throughout their wartime separation, which include V-mail letters and picture postcards of Syracuse, New York. Solinske and Walter primarily discussed their daily lives and plans for their forthcoming marriage, and occasionally commented on war news, particularly around the end of the war. One letter refers to the ethics of killing German prisoners of war (February 25, 1945). The series also has a postcard book from Alexandria, Louisiana, where Solinske was stationed during his training.

The Photographs series contains 4 unlabeled black and white photographs; 2 depict men in World War II-era military uniforms.

The Scrapbook contains war-era newspaper clippings, often with jokes or humorous cartoons, and greeting cards from James Solinske to Ginny Walter. Though the couple were not yet married, he often addressed her as his "wife."

The collection's 2 Field Manuals are entitled Military Courtesy and Discipline (June 15, 1942) and First Aid for Soldiers (April 7, 1943).

The final series contains approximately 100 cancelled World War II-era Stamps. Many of the cancellation stamps encourage readers to purchase war bonds.