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Minnesota World War II Collections

 Subject
Subject Source: Local sources

Found in 19 Collections and/or Records:

Augusta Bjeldanes Papers

 Collection
Identifier: M/A 0080
Description of Contents

Correspondence between Augusta Bjeldanes and her former students serving in World War II and related materials, including v-mail, a copy of official document concerning the Army’s efforts to raise money for the relief effort, photos, and publicity materials on Ralph Magelssen.

Dates: 1942 - 1946

Charlotte Griffin Weld Papers

 Collection
Identifier: M/A 0082
Description of Contents

Correspondence, newspaper clippings, ephemera, and realia from Charlotte Griffin Weld’s local volunteer roles.

Dates: 1940 - 1948

Clara H. Harrington Scrapbook

 Collection
Identifier: M/A 0016
Description of Contents

The collection details and documents Harrington's donation of a mobile canteen for the British Military via the English-Speaking Union. Includes correspondence and newspaper clippings on the American Red Cross, Hennepin County Chapter.

Dates: 1940 - 1949

Cliff Nyberg World War II Scrapbooks

 Collection
Identifier: M/A 0355
Description of Contents

The collection consists of five scrapbooks detailing Cliff Nyberg's experience with the U.S. Army 11th Field Hospital during World War II. The scrapbooks include photographs, documents, insignia, newspaper clippings, and assorted records.

Dates: 1942 - 1945

Crippen and Beck Family World War II Papers

 Collection
Identifier: M/A 0375
Description of Contents Correspondence, memoir, compiled documents, photo album scrapbooks, and paper weight made from defused artillery shell documenting the experiences of two members of Amy Rea's family in World War II. Crippen's materials include a memoir he wrote, originals and photocopies of documents charting his service in the U.S. Navy, extensive photograph albums and the paperweight he created from defused Japanese artillery shell detonators on Guadalcanal. Crippen’s photos include his training in the...
Dates: 1942 - 2004

Jack Kotthoff World War II Papers

 Collection
Identifier: M/A 0387
Description of Contents This collection consists of a scrapbook compiled by Jack Kotthoff during his European service in World War II and documents from the Battery C 217th and Battery B 49th veterans' organization from the late 1940s to the early 2000s. The scrapbook contains black and white photographs and other mementos of Kotthoff's service in Iceland, Scotland, England, France, Belgium, and the Rhineland. Documents from the veterans' organization are chiefly annual reunion minutes and mailing...
Dates: 1941 - 2003

James G. Smith Correspondence and Photographs

 Collection
Identifier: M/A 0040
Description of Contents The collection contains World War II correspondence and photographs organized chronologically. It documents a US soldier's life during World War II, beginning as an enlistee in the US Army in March 1942 and ending with his return home and release from duty in October 1945. Included are letters to his wife and parents detailing his everyday life and concerns while being acutely aware of the need to censor his letters for privacy and national security concerns. Also included are personal...
Dates: 1942 - 1945

Jean Kennedy WAC Correspondence

 Collection
Identifier: M/A 0367
Description of Contents Correspondence, newspaper clippings, and Army documents from Jean Kennedy's World War II service with the Women's Army Corps (WAC) from 1944 to 1946. The bulk of the collection contains letters written by Kennedy to her father, aunt, and other family members in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Letters were sent from Des Moines, Iowa; Clovis, New Mexico; Calcutta, India; and Chungking and Shanghai, China.Family members copied some letters to share with each other. These copies are...
Dates: 1944 - 1946

Laurence Jensen and Linnea Schonstedt Papers

 Collection
Identifier: M/A 0238
Description of Contents Correspondence, cards, photos, newspaper clippings, paper money from Buchenwald, newspapers (war publication of the Star Journal), notice of award of bronze star medal, (April 13, 1945) and school autograph book. Feb 23, 1942 “I just had a little discussion with one of the fellows I’m sure what he thinks of me. I told him that I wasn’t mad at either the Japs or Germans but rather at the big shots of this...
Dates: 1927 - 1977

Lord Family World War II Correspondence

 Collection
Identifier: M/A 0348
Description of Contents The Lord Family World War II Correspondence collection contains letters and cards sent between Staff Sergeant Harry Holmes Lord, Jr. of the United States Marine Corps (USMC) and his family in Minneapolis. The letters cover the time span from when Staff Sergeant Lord entered boot camp in May 1943 to when he completed his service in January 1946. The collection contains two series. Letters Home from Harry Holmes Lord, Jr.: Letters Home...
Dates: 1943 - 1946

Lyman Family Papers

 Collection
Identifier: M/A 0310
Description of Contents

The collection includes World War II-era correspondence, yacht logs, and biographical material on the Lyman family.

Dates: 1933 - 1960

McMillan and Pomeroy Family Photographs

 Collection
Identifier: M/A 0354
Description of Contents The collection consists of photographs belonging to Frank Pomeroy's grandmother, Jessamine McMillan, and her siblings (Corrine Frances McMillan and Howard McMillan), as well as a small folder of World War II correspondence. The bulk of the images are studio prints of East High School students or unidentified individuals. A photo album showing rural farm life, likely from Howard McMillan's Long Lake farm, Orchard Hill, is included. One folder contains photos taken by Donald Pomeroy, Jr....
Dates: 1904-1930s

Melvin Roy Swensen Prisoner of War Postcards

 Collection
Identifier: M/A 0385
Description of Contents

Newspaper clippings and postcards sent by First Lieutenant Melvin Roy Swensen to his family in Minneapolis. Swensen was a Japanese prisoner of war from 1942 to 1945. The postcards are forms issued by the Imperial Japanese Army with short messages from Swensen.

Dates: 1942 - 1945

Minneapolis Public Library World War II Correspondence

 Collection
Identifier: M/A 0330
Description of Contents This collection consists of letters written to Minneapolis Public Library staff during World War II from 1942 to 1945. The authors are chiefly former library employees, both men and women, who were in active military service. The Reference Department Correspondence series forms the bulk of the collection, with most letters addressed to department heads Genevieve MacDonald and Elizabeth Bond. The Margaret Fletcher Correspondence ...
Dates: 1942 - 1945

Peter Kosmas Diaries

 Collection
Identifier: M/A 0340
Description of Contents The collection consists of loose-leaf diaries written by Peter Kosmas between 1936 and 1943 while he was a student at Washburn High School and the University of Minnesota. The bulk of the diary entries are handwritten and focus on Kosmas' academic, social, and family life. In addition to Kosmas' reflections, the entries occasionally include newspaper clippings, photographs (1940 and 1941), and ephemera, including a 1941 Washburn High School commencement program.While some years...
Dates: 1936 - 1943

Rosemary Needham Hollenbeck Papers

 Collection
Identifier: M/A 0076
Description of Contents

Collection includes photographs, official notices, clippings (concerning establishment of the Women's Reserve Corps, dress, and special events); publications, and miscellaneous ephemera. Box 1 includes clippings, photos, and ephemera. Box 2 is a scrapbook covering 1943-1947. Box 3 is a service scrapbook album, U.S. Marines, 1943-1940s.

Dates: 1941 - 1952

U.S.S. Minneapolis Cruise Album

 Collection
Identifier: M/A 0353
Description of Contents

The collection consists of one photo album featuring the U.S.S. Minneapolis on its leather cover. The book contains an autograph page and family photos by an unknown owner. The photos were chiefly taken in Hawaii in 1941. Several images include family members on the S.S. Lurline. It is not clear if anyone pictured served on the U.S.S. Minneapolis.

Dates: 1941 - 1953

Violet Glyer Scrapbook

 Collection
Identifier: M/A 0246
Description of Contents

Black and white photographs taken by Violet Glyer during her World War II service with the University of Minnesota’s 26th General Hospital Unit from 1942 to 1945. Her meticulous identification of people in the photos and the location, make her photographs especially useful. She photographed fellow medical personnel, friends, the communities and local people where she was stationed.

Dates: 1942 - 1945

William Leland Jensen Papers

 Collection
Identifier: M/A 0079
Description of Contents

The collection contains materials pertaining to William Leland Jensen’s career with the War Production Board (WPB) from the Minnesota, North and South Dakota region. Includes good documentation of the process of Jensen being hired on with the War Production Board, organizational charts, reports, publications, photographs, and clippings pertaining to the WPB during the years 1942-1947.

Dates: 1942 - 1947