After graduating from Kansas State Agricultural College in 1914, Gilles entered World War I in 1918. This collection spans the years 197 to 1919 and consists of five boxes.
Gilles, Arthur H.Military history
19 Archival description results for Military history
These papers include the wartime correspondence and related documents of George Dudley Wheatley, a first lieutenant in the United States Army who was involved in several decisive actions of the Allied Expeditionary Forces (AEF) during the First World War. The collection consists of 122 pieces and spans the years 1909; 1916-1919; 1923.
The documents presented in this collection offer a historically important window into the daily life of soldiers involved in America’s first major involvement in international military affairs beginning with a document from a friend stationed in the Dominican Republic in 1916 to a then stateside George Wheatley. It describes the occupation and sentiments towards Americans, combat encountered by Army and Marine Corps units, along with personal commentary on college football and the reelection of Woodrow Wilson.
The majority of the collection involves letters mailed from George Wheatley to his parents. They begin with his time at the officer’s candidate training school at Plattsburg, New York, in 1917. Among the items mentioned is the effects and treatment of a camp epidemic of German measles. They are followed by letters referring to the accommodations and experiences aboard his transport ship to Europe in 1918 (the SS Mongolia), and travels through England and France, including tourism, military railway transportation, and the conduct of the French military, and his activities at an Allied Expeditionary Forces school in Chatillon-sur-Seine. The remainder of the letters is an account of his experiences on the battle front in 1918.
The strength of the collection is the letters written to his father in 1919 from Springfield, Vermont, after he returned to the United States and was discharged from the U. S. Army. Wheatley provides vivid descriptions of his involvement in combat on the front lines, including letters that describe his being wounded on two occasions while in combat, his association with Colonel William “Wild Bill” Donovan, and military engagements from the beginning of 1918 until the end of the war. A few of his letters provide eye witness accounts of Donovan’s leadership, participation in combat, and being wounded. Donovan later became head of the Office of Strategic Services and played an important role in forming the Central Intelligence Agency. Among the pages of a small notebook is a chronological list Wheatley maintained of his whereabouts from the time he entered the military in January 1918, through his movements in Europe, and until his discharge on April 1, 1919.
The following are among the locations noted by Wheatley in his papers during the war: Chatillon, Rambervillers, Moyermont, Chattel sur Moselle, Coulars, Ecury-sur-Coole, La Borry, Jonchery, Suippes Valley, Vardeney, Epieds, Montport, Barritz, Bordeaux, Paris, Blois, St. Organy, La Marche, Chateau Thierry, St. Mihiel, Verdin, Mountfaucon, Landres et St. Georges, St. Georges, Exermont, Les Petes Armoises, Le Vivier, Artaise, Chaumont, Sedan, Buzaucy, Thenorgnes, Argonne. Muese-Argonne.
Album of family photographs associated with sign and house painter Harvey Honnold of Olathe, Kansas. Photographs are the products of professional studios in Kansas, Missouri, Ohio and Tennessee. Most are cabinet photographs, but some are tintypes, others in carte-de-visite format. One photograph is marked “H. Honnold taken on Cedar Creek west of Olathe somewhere north of Farland, HoughlandNeighborhood/Taken by Bert Honnold” Circa 1892.
Honnold, HarveyThis collection contains items related to the military service of Henry F. Kupfer, a Kansas State University alumnus of the class of 1940, including military service records (personnel records, medical examinations, certifications, memoranda, discharge documents, etc.) dating from 1940 to 1953, the February 28, 1944 issue of the 6th Air Force magazine Caribbean Breeze, a leatherbound scrapbook/photo album dating from 1942 to 1944 (the binding is likely from South or Central America), and Kupfer's service diary, containing entries from 1936 to 1944 including recollections of travel, duty assignments, promotions, medical examinations, and social activities. (Note: the blank diary itself has a copyright date of 1941; entries from 1936-1940 were entered later, and briefly delineate Kupfer's time in the Kansas State University Reserve Officer Training Corps). Also included is a compact disc labeled "Henry Kupfer - Veterans History Project," which was not readable at the time this entry was written.
Kupfer, Henry F.This collection includes artifacts and memorabilia from Lonnie Maynard, a member of the National Guard.
Series one consists of letters Maynard wrote home, letters he received from his daughter's class, maps, military-issued Bible and New Testament, a duffle bag, nine small U. S. flags intended for Iraqi citizens, and 750 photographs taken in Baghdad, Iraq.
Series two is comprised of Iraqi military items. Some items included are uniforms, patrol armband, helmet, beret, military medals, paper currency, field radio, gas mask, and most wanted posters in the Arabic language.
Series three contains U. S. military items such as helmets, hats, beret, boots, shovel, bags, belt, canteen, earplugs, U. S. Air Force patches, and U. S. airman mini pins.
The collection consists of four Carte de visites (CdV) documenting Manhattan, Kansas and spanning the years 1863-1866. The photographs have been attributed to George Burgoyne (active Manhattan 1859-1890), and were presumably taken from his studio window. At the time of acquisition (2000), all four views bore penciled identifications on the versos, each image identified as Burgoyne's work, each subject identified and dated. Some of this information was presumably transferred from an album that once included the pictures.
The earliest CdV, dated 1863, includes Manhattan's main street, Poyntz Avenue, looking towards the East. The second, dated 1864, presents the town's residences, outhouses, and dirt streets in the direction of Bluemont Hill to the North. The third and fourth images return to the easterly vantage point of the 1863 image. One shows phalanxed U.S. troops crossing the mouth of the Big Blue River as part of the Indian Expedition on 28 June 1865. The final Carte de visite, dated 1866, reveals the addition of new commercial buildings along the city's main artery.
The collection is an important one for frontier Manhattan, as it includes the earliest known views of its commercial and residential districts.
This manuscript collection, consisting of approximately 450 items housed in one box. The material spans the years 1888-1950. Series 1, Military Papers (1898-1950), is the largest series and it is divided into the following sub-series: Spanish-American War, 1898; Cavalry Units, 1906-1915; Punitive Expedition Diary, ca. 1916; Letters of Recommendation, 1914-1919; Stateside Mobilization Camps, 1917-1918; Embarkation to France, 1918; Company Command in France, 1918-1919; 344th Labor Battalion Company Funds and Payroll; General A.E.F. Orders and Memoranda, 1919; Demobilization in France, 1919; Demobilization Camp in U.S., 1919; and, Retirement, ROTC and IRS, 1919-1950. Enroute to Namiquipa - U.S. Soldiers bathing, ca 1916 A Spanish-American War Roster and a roster of the 344th Labor Battalion (WWI) are interesting for their notations of names and addresses of the men who participated in these wars. The papers reveal the rapid promotion Nels A. Tornquist received after he was selected to command a black service company The certificates show that he was promoted from sergeant to first lieutenant in July of 1918 and then to captain the following month, just in time to take his new command to France during WWI. Among the activities documented in the papers during the time Capt. Tornquist commanded the black service company is a serious incident concerning large quantities of unexpended ammunition that the men in his company were expected to work around at their own risk. There are two folders in the collection that deal with the 344th Labor Battalion. One rare find in the collection is a war diary of the Punitive Expedition into Mexico after Pancho Villa, ca. 1916-1917. The comments on forage problems, climate and travel are noteworthy. Series 2, Personal Correspondence, is divided between that of Nels A. and Nels F. Tornquist. The father, Nels F., received all of his letters from his native Sweden so they are written in that language. The son's letters, fortunately for the Army censors during WWI, are written in English and are addressed to his step-mother Carrie. There are also many envelopes without the enclosures but they are useful for showing Tornquist's change of address as he moved from one unit to another throughout his career. Tornquist astride an Indian, U.S. Mobilization Camp, 1918 Series 3, Legal Papers, contains an original Kansas homestead deed for Salina, Kansas in 1888 and deeds for property in Washington state. Series 4, Certificates, indicate the official notification of each rank that Nels A. Tornquist achieved. A so included are notifications of retirement after 24 years of honorable service with the pre-WWI rank of sergeant; the notification in 1934 that he advanced to the retired rank of captain; and an undated memorial on behalf of the United States, signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Series 5, Printed Material, includes many souvenirs, train passes and army pamphlets from WWI. Of particular interest are War Information series pamphlets entitled, The War Message and the Facts Behind It, printed in June, 1917 and Treaty of Peace with Germany, printed in June, 1919. The remainder of the printed material is a mixture of wedding announcements, veterans organization membership cards, and incidental items. Series 6, is comprised of maps showing the progress of WWI and WWII. There is an excellent period map of Verdun, France which Capt. Tornquist personally annotated to show where he spent time prior to and after the armistice of November 11, 1918. 344th Labor Battalion, World War I, ca 1918 344th Labor Battalion, World War I, ca 1918 Approximately 61 photographs from the Spanish-American War, the Mexican border during 1916-1917 and WWI were filed in the KSU photograph collection, and several three-dimensional items were stored with the artifacts collection. A number of WWI and WWII maps were transferred to the Documents Department in the library. Of related interest is an oral history interview between Carl Rehfeld, the uncle of Nels Tornquist, and Evan Williams of Farrell Library. The tape and transcript are in the University Archives Oral History Collection.
Tornquist, Nels A.The Correspondence Series (1834, 1845-1966) consists of twelve boxes and four sub-series.
The first sub-series are correspondence between family members and friends between the years 1834, and 1845 and 1966. It consists of nine boxes and twenty additional file folders in box 10.
The second sub-series is Education and made up of one file folder. Correspondence in this sub-series contains “pressure notes” to Olive and Mary Page when they attended Mt. Holyoke-Female Seminary wanting the twins to change their religious beliefs.
The third sub-series is Medical and is comprised of 33 file folders that contains correspondence that deal with Dr. William H. Page’s medical practice.
The fourth sub-series, Military, contains two file folders of World War I letters to Olive Page between 1918 and 1919.
The Art Series (1851-1852) consists of one cartoon that was created by Daniel Page when he was sent home from the Phillips Exeter Academy “because he did not know enough to enter the academy.”
The Cookery Series (ca. 1910-1920, undated) includes Mary Page Hastings undated manuscript cookbook. This cookbook includes recipes for cream pies, feed for 40 hens and washing fluid. Also in this series is a score card when Olive Page Rogers judged butter contests between 1910 and 1920.
The Education Series (1844-1929, undated) consists of school transcripts for Daniel Page from Phillips Exeter Academy, Florence Page from Newark Art School of Fine & Industrial Arts and Kingman Page from Bowdoin College. Essays by Mary Page, Nina Page, and William Page are included.
The Family Series (1817, 1943-195[2], undated) consists of eighteen file folders. These folders include genealogical information, garden records, church membership, wedding gifts, funerals, marriages and school medical examination.
The Financial Series (1821-1948) is housed in fourteen file folders contains ledger books with minutes and legal information, receipts for payments to teachers, individual accounts, and financial documents pertaining to organizations and society pins. A flat box includes an account book for pigs/hogs, horses, cattle, hens, sheep, wall paper for the Portland Street House, feed supplies, clothing, utilities, labor expenses, etc.
The Legal Series (1789-1947, undated) is comprised of real estate documents, deeds, a law suit that Alice Page filed against Daniel Page and Benjamin Page in the 1840s, and wills and estates.
The Literary Series (1823-1923, undated) consists of essays by William H. Page, Poetry by Beatrice Page, Mary Page Hastings and Minnie Hastings and Valentines to William Page and Huldah Page.
The Medical Series (1840s-1885) is made up of documents from William H. Page’s medical practice. Items included are record books of patients, records of military recruits examined by Page at Boston during the Civil War, prescriptions, cures, and documents Page’s eye injury.
The Military Series (1861-1863) contains a discharge record book of Civil War soldiers from Massachusetts and New Hampshire. This book provides the rank, company, regiment, state, residence, date of discharge, volume number and page number.
Printed Material (1839-1927) includes advertisement, announcements, annual reports, booklets about agriculture, medical, mining, silver ware and travel; a New Testament Bible belonging to Daniel Page; broadsides; calling card; invitations, and newspaper clippings.
Diaries Series (1854-1988) consists of 26 diaries. The most prominent diaries in the collection were written by Nina E. Page, daughter of Dr. William H. Page, from 1911 to 1942.
Memo Notebooks Series (1874-1881; 1909; 1973; undated) is comprised of two Page family address books (1909 and 1973), an undated events book, and an autograph book.
Correspondence Series, Alphabetical, 1972-2004 and undated consists of correspondence to Carolyn Page and Roy Zarucchi and their business The Nightshade Press.
Correspondence Series, Chronological, 1834-1946 and undated is made up of handwritten correspondence between Page Family members. These letters were not included in the original collection as Carolyn Page was using them for research. This series also includes correspondence, 1847-1878 and undated, that are typewritten because they had been transcribed onto a CD.
Subject, 1851-2002 and undated, is comprised of information relating to some of the Page family members and information pertaining to The Nightshade Press such as press releases, poetry book reviews, and some authors who wrote for the journal.
The Financial Series, 1850-1947, is made up of Account and Note Books and financial information kept by Victor E. Page and Olive Page Rogers. These accounts include prices of food, clothing and other household items purchased as well as crops and livestock bought and sold.
Legal Documents II, 1822-1912, consists of real estate records and deed, marriage records, wills, and estate records. The most interesting items in this series are the wills and estate documents of Benjamin and Huldah Page.
Literary Works II consists of an incomplete manuscript by Carolyn Page titled <emph render='italic'>Homesteading in Desperate Times.</emph> It was to be a book about the twins, Mary and Olive Page. Mary married and moved to Missouri, while Olive taught school in Boston. Often Mary wrote home asking Olive to send her old clothes so that she could sew clothes for her children.
Printed Material II, 1839-2000, includes articles, books published by The Nightshade Press, book reviews, hymn lyrics, The Nightshade Press journals from 1989 to 2000.
The Photograph Series consist of three (3) photographs: Daniel and Maggie Page, Dannie, Lilli and Nettie, and an unidentified person.
The Media Series consists of one Compact Disk (CD, undated). This CD contains Page Family correspondence that has been transcribed. Researchers should try to match the transcribed letter to the original handwritten if all possible for accuracy.
The Art Series II, 1930 and undated, consists of artwork by Carolyn Page, Anne Croom, Wilma Fulkerson, Ray Gengenbach, Florence Page Woodes, and Roy Zarucchi.
The Oversize Series, 1865-1889, 1986 and undated, is made up of three Physician Record books belonging to Dr. William H. Page and to Nina A. Page and some art work by Anne Croom, Ray Gengenback, Joe McLendon and Carolyn Page.
The Artifacts Series, 1889-1890, 1915 and undated includes a birthday card, calling card case, a medical prescription pad, two wallets – one black and one brown, and a wooden letter box. There are also empty envelopes in this series that did not have correspondence attached.
The records of Pearce-Keller American Legion Post 17, Manhattan, Kansas, covers a nine-year period from 1921 to 1929 and documents a variety of daily actions at the post. A marjority of the records, however, fall between 1924 and 1928.
The correspondence series is made up of fifteen folders. A large portion of the records include correspondence between the Pearch-Keller post commanders and various elements of the American Legion, such as other post commanders in Kansas, the State Adjutant, and members of the Pearce-Keller Post.
The financial records consist of nine folders. Researchers will find purchase receipts from businesses around Manhattan, checkbooks, deposit slips, and bank statements.
The membership series is made up of nine folders and includes publications from the State Adjutant regarding the condition of American Legion membership across Kansas and membership lists from the Pearce-Keller over the nine years the collections covers.
The fourth series in this collection concerns Printed Material from the main office of the American Legion, Pearce-Keller post commanders to members regarding meetings and other American Legion functions. Also in this series researchers will find publications from the State and Pearce-Keller Post Adjutants as well as the United States government from the years 1922 to 1928.
The fifth series, Official American Legion Forms, and other documents are stored in one box. In this series, researchers will find official American Legion membership records and card issuing booklets as well as ballots from the election of post officers covering 1921 to 1929.
While most of the documents in this collection fall between 1924 and 1928, there is a noticeable gap in records that covers most of 1926 where little information is present.
The most notable figure in the collection, from a perspective of Kansas State University history, is former Post Commander Clearence O. Price. C. O. Price was Post Commander at Pearce-Keller and was an Assistant to the President of Kansas State University from 1920 to 1951.
This artificial collection includes postcards of subjects that include Kansas State University, Fort Riley, Manhattan, and Kansas. Some cards are addressed and others are blank.
Approximately 7,000 images on DVDs filed in four notebooks. They include photos of meetings, events, and ceremonies taken by photographers affiliated with the Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Myers, Richard B.The papers of Lieutenant General Richard J. Seitz (Ret.) document major portions of his military career, civilian activities, and family life (1918-1975). A native Kansan, General Seitz was born in Leavenworth in 1918; he entered Kansas State College of Agriculture and Applied Science in 1937. He completed the ROTC program before he was able to graduate, was commissioned a second lieutenant in the infantry reserve, and was called to active duty in February of 1940. Researchers are referred to the above biographical sketch and obituary, an oral history conducted by the U.S. Army Military Institute (Box 2/Folder 6), and autobiography (Box 6/Folder 8), to gain a full understanding of the career of General Seitz, a highly decorated, accomplished, and respected soldier in the U.S. Army. His civic and family activities are also worthy of distinction. After 35 years of service, he retired a lieutenant general in 1975 to Junction City, Kansas. He passed away on June 8, 2013.
The military service files and photographs (1939-1975) document General Seitz’s military career primarily with the U. S. Army Airborne. The papers include orders, commendations, service records, promotions, correspondence with commanding officers and officers under his command. Researchers can use these files to study the rise of a newly commissioned second lieutenant in 1940 to his promotion to lieutenant general and designation as commander of the 18th Airborne Corps in 1973. They can also gain an understanding of the involvement of the U.S. military in World War II and other operations around the world including Brazil, Iran (Mahabad), and Vietnam (under General William Westmoreland), in addition to various Airborne commands in the United States.
General Seitz’s record involving military campaigns during World War II is most notable. In March 1942 he was given command of the 2nd Battalion of the 517th Parachute Infantry Regimental Combat Team. Promoted to Lt. Colonel, he was the Army’s youngest battalion commander. The 517th entered combat at Anzio and continued up the Italian Peninsula before joining the southern invasion of France in August 1944. When Hitler launched the Battle of the Bulge, Seitz joined the fighting where his battalion went from 691 men to 380 during some of the worst fightings of the war. During the later stages of the war, Bettie Merrill, who Seitz had dated since they met in Kansas, was able to travel from Holland as a member of the Red Cross to rendezvous with Seitz in Joigny, France where they were married on June 23, 1945! Among the awards that he received for his valor were the Purple Heart (Italy), Silver Star, Croiz de Guerre with Palm, and Bronze Star.
In addition to his service records, other material in the collection documents General Seitz’s military career including his personal files, speeches, printed material, and certificates and awards. Significant information about the Seitz family is found in the personal files and photographs.
This Civil War era pocket diary and account book records the daily life and finances of 110th Ohio Volunteer Infantry surgeon Dr. Robert Robison McCandliss (1826-1908) from May-December 1863. It includes Major General Horatio G. Wright's 1865 letter authorizing McCandliss to administer to the wounded during the final days of the war.
Born in Warren County, Ohio, Dr. McCandliss enlisted in the Union Army as a medical officer on 25 August 1862. Along with his wife, Priscilla (née Youart), and two orderlies, he rode with the 110th Ohio Volunteers in an ambulance. Surrounded by Confederate troops during the Battle of Winchester, the surgeon, his wife and hundreds of others were taken as prisoners. McCandliss was ultimately incarcerated in Libby Prison, his wife in Castle Thunder.
The diary's entries cover a wide range of topics, including the daily life of a medical officer in the Union Army, personal relationships, regiment fatalities, and brief mentions of skirmishes with Confederate Bushwackers. His account also provides readers with information regarding his capture, transfer, imprisonment and anticipated release. The diary concludes with his arrival in Washington, D.C. as workers were placing Thomas Crawford's statue atop the U.S. Capitol 2 December 1863. Supplementary pages include addresses of boarding houses and roadside inns, as well as notations regarding McCandliss's finances.
A small pocket within the binding contained a separate letter, dated 7 April 1865, authorizing the surgeon to administer to wounded soldiers until their impending transfer to Burke Station, Virginia. This was removed to a four-flap enclosure due to preservation concerns.
The Robert Robison McCandliss Diary is identified as University Archives accession number 2015-16.042. Preliminary processing of the diary was completed by Paul A. Thomsen on August 17, 2011.
The Robert Simonsen Photograph Collection contains autographed photographs divided into 4 series: U. S. Political, U. S. Military, U. S. Protectorates, and International Leaders. The collection is split fairly evenly between the United States and International photographs, with the majority of the U. S. photographs residing in the Political series. Many of the autographs include an inscription and/or an accompanying letter. Unidentified individuals are first within each section.
The United States Political series is divided into three subseries: States, Ambassadors, and Federal Agencies. The States are arranged alphabetically with the individuals sorted alphabetically by name under their political division: House of Representatives, Senate, and State Officials. This is followed by United States Ambassadors arranged alphabetically within various year ranges, and United States Federal Agencies sorted alphabetically by specific department then arranged alphabetically by name.
The United States Military series is divided into four subseries by branch: Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard, and Marines. Within each branch the names are alphabetized under rank. Some ranks are entered multiple times under various year ranges.
The photographs in the United States Protectorates series are alphabetized under the specific place: Micronesia, Palau, Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Trust Territory of the Pacific, Guam, and Marshall Islands.
The International Leaders series is sorted alphabetically by country. Some countries have all the individuals sorted alphabetically within a single grouping, while other countries will further divide the photographs into political and military subgroups. For example, the photographs for Argentina are all grouped together, while Australia is broken into 14 subgroups.
The Society for Military History Records (1933-2006) consists primarily of administrative and journal-related correspondence, organizational planning memoranda, and internal officer level reports. The original general arrangement of the records has been retained wherever possible. The majority of the collection is related to the preparation for annual conferences and the publishing of the organization's quarterly journal. The collection is organized into seven series: 1) Historic Papers, 2) Administrative Records, 3) Subject Files, 4) Journal Publishing Records, 5) Financial Records, 6) Printed Material, 7) Photographs. More detailed summaries of each series follow the scope and content section.
Originating as collaboration between the army's publications/historical research office workers and several Washington, D.C. area archivists, the organization, originally called the American Military History Foundation, was formed in an attempt to supplement the military's primary resource-poor collection in preparation to fight future wars. In time, the organization gravitated towards the scholarly study of American war fighting capabilities and public policy. Eventually, the organization grew into a multi-facetted society of scholars, military personnel, archivists, and military history enthusiasts, encompassing a dual foreign and domestic orientation, which encouraged a veritable kaleidoscope of traditional and non-traditional subject fields. Hence, this collection spans the history of the organization's different incarnations chronologically and by subject. These periods of change are reflected in their changes in name. They are the American Military History Foundation (AMHF), 1933-1939, the American Military Institute (AMI), 1939-1990, and the Society for Military History (SMH), 1990-present, respectively.
Their main publication, frequently referred to as "the journal" in documentation, has also changed names several times. They are The Journal of the American Military History Foundation (1937-1939/1940), Military Affairs (1939/1940-1988), and The Journal of Military History (1988-present), respectively.
The records also reflect the organization's involvement with other scholarly organizations, most notably the American Historical Association (AHA), the Organization of American Historians (OAH) and the United States Commission on Military History (USCMH), as well as their affiliation and later absorption of the veterans/historians association the Order of the Indian Wars (OIW).
Consequently, the strength of the collection lies with documentation concerning both the shifting needs of the general military, academic community, and the general public as well as the increased diversification of the military historiographic landscape due to the organization's non-profit efforts in both the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
The Historic Papers (1933-1972) series consists of (1) box of documentation, relating to the original goals of the organization, several early projects, certificates of incorporation, constitutions and by-laws, reports outlining the duties of officers, copyright information, taxes, early organizational correspondence between founding members, and agreements made with other organizations regarding membership and journal publishing, including the Order of the Indian Wars (OIW) and Kansas State University (KSU). Also found in the series are a few 1935 articles, published through Army Ordinance, which provided a mission statement, the creation of an organization beyond the Army History Division and served as the starting point for the organization's publishing arm.
The Administrative Records (1933-2007) series consists of (79) boxes of correspondence and reports circulated between the officers of presidential administrations, individual organizational members, the executive directors, and the boards of trustees. These files include such issues as membership drives, conference planning, journal publication evaluations, officer reports, and general correspondence. The papers covering the early years focus on daily administrative activities within a narrow scope of weeks and months. The papers covering the latter years of the organization span both daily material and long-range planning by the organization's officers. Many notable archivists and historians served as officers in the organization, including Trevor Dupuy, William Foote, B.F. Cooling, Russell Weigley, K. Jack Bauer, Alan Millett, Robert Berlin, Donald Bittner, Timothy Nenninger, Edward Coffman, and Edwin Simmons. Much of the correspondence and officer reports also shed light on several key events in the organization's history, including a 1940s attempted transformation of the journal towards a National Geographic-type format by Dallas Irving, the 1950s and 1960s performance of an all-volunteer editorial staff managed by Victor Gondos, Trevor Dupuy's late 1950 attempts to develop AMI into an increasingly scholarly organization, periodic evaluations of Kansas State University's journal publishing performance, the forces behind the creation of the Moncado Awards and the AMI/SMH Book Award, the search for a replacement publisher for the journal prior to the 1988 completion of KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY 's contract, and reports outlining the sequence of fiscal/membership crises which nearly dissolved the organization. Similarly, the SMH papers of Donald Bittner collected in this series outline the entire process of conference creation from thematic conception to methodological process and management to the post-conference publication of several papers in the Marine Corps University's "Perspectives on Warfighting." Correspondence pertaining to several other noted military historians can also be found in this series, including material by Martin Blumenson, Victor Gondos, Brian Linn, Forest Pogue, Craig Symonds, Dennis Showalter, Robin Higham, Robert Berlin, and Bruce Catton.
The Subject Files (1908-1993) series consists of (11) boxes, containing a wide assortment of document-types from the organization's holdings according to topic and chronology. These files, originally retained separately from the general collection, were frequently utilized by different administrations as reference material for numerous policy initiatives described in other series. The set of records relating to the Order of Indian Wars contain both historic oral histories of the Plaines Wars and membership lists as a recruitment resource, which were incorporated into the organization when the Order of the Indian Wars merged with AMHF/AMI between 1938 and 1947. Other files contain biographical summaries of influential early members and journal contributors. Several files concern the drafts, correspondence, and memoranda on the reorganization of organization. Another collects the correspondence, submitted entries and judges description's for AMI's 1939 "Historical Fire Arms Contest." Still others include the efforts of several public relations to increase membership, membership paraphernalia, contractual agreements with other organizations, reports concerning the location and disposition of the AMI Library and Archives, federal tax-related forms, the history behind the Moncado Award, and one of the only successful 1960s Civil War commemorative events, the AMI Civil War Centennial Celebration.
The Journal Publishing Records (1933-1980) series consists of (13) boxes of correspondence, memoranda, reports, and papers submitted for publication by the journal. It covers the publication's many changes in name, editorial direction and format from The Journal of the American Military History Foundation (1937-1939) to The Journal of the American Military Institute (1939-1941) to Military Affairs (1941-1988), and, most recently, to The Journal of Military History (1989-present). The contents range from submitted manuscripts, such as "The United States Army Troops in China, 1912-1937" by Charles W. Thomas III (circa 1933), to editorial board-level material. Although originating in 1937 as the Journal of the American Military History Foundation, the majority of this collection was gathered together in the 1950s by Victor Gondos and served as the staff's institutional memory during his tenure as editor of Military Affairs. Researchers interested in business history and publishing will find the editor's daily correspondence particularly valuable, detailing the journal's on-going relationship with printers, advertisers, readers, reviewers, and prospective contributors. Another valuable resource includes the Cold War era's editorial board reports, which recorded membership/subscriber growth as well as managed printing venues, advertisers, subscribing institutions, and book reviewers. Other interesting subjects covered by the files include editor Dallas Irving's attempt to widen the journal's readership, the near dissolution of the journal in the late 1940s upon the resignation of the volunteer editor, the brief period in which the publication was maintained by the United States Army Office of the Chief of Military History, the 1949 attempt to rescue the publication by then-Columbia University President Dwight Eisenhower, the 1968 transition of publishing operations from a volunteer staff in the Washington, D.C. area to a paid professional publishing staff comprising Kansas State University's History and English departments and headed by Robin Higham, and a 1998 joint project with the United States Commission on Military History to publish an issue of Reveue Internationale D'Histoire Militair on the relationship between the United States Constitution and America's armed forces.
The Financial Records (1934-1999) series consists of (17) boxes of accounting records, receipts, officer reports, trustees meeting minutes, membership lists, and correspondence by subject and chronology. The first section of the records includes membership lists spanning the early years of the organization and the Cold War era AMI, detailing the status of active members, dues accrued, patrons, and honorary members as well as groupings of members by geographic region. Some individuals listed as members include George Marshall, Douglas MacArthur, Charles Summerall, Samuel Bemis, William D. Campell, Hoffman Nickerson, Hilario Moncado, Walter Lippmann, Milton Skelly, Bernard Brodie, Stephen Ambrose, and Harold Deutsch. The second section covers the accounting records of the early organization to the onset of the Second World War in the form of bank statements, bound ledgers, deposit slips, paid bills, and check books. The remainder of the collection covers the Treasurer and the Treasurer-Secretary's reports to the organization's officers, meeting minutes with the Board of Trustees, correspondence concerning member's status, investments, and bills to be paid. The financial arrangements made for joint conferences/seminars with other organizations are also interesting, including the American Historical Association and the Organization of American Historians, arrangements made for the organization's own annual conferences, and the early AMI Treasurer's financial reports concerning membership shortfalls after World War II and the Korean War.
The Printed Material series collects in (3) boxes maps, posters, and illustrations as well as copies of conference programs, newsletters, and some newspaper clippings. The first section of the series contains several black and white illustrations, printed in England, outlining the evolution of weaponry from edged weapons and armor to firearms, graphics describing officer ranks, two World War II era posters ("Careless Talk" and "5th War Loan"), maps of the United States, the world, and a handful of World War I battlefield actions. The second section holds several programs for SMH Annual Meeting events, membership directories for both the AMI and SMH for the years 1981, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1998, 2000, and 2002, respectively, and an eighteen year run of the Headquarters Gazette (1990-2008). The final section of the series includes newspaper clippings, featuring the obituaries of notable organizational members. A complete collection of Journal of Military History issues from 1994-2006 has been separated from the papers, catalogued, and shelved in the University Archives.
The Photographs (1940-2008) series collects in (1) box the miscellaneous printed images and portraits of the organization's members. Included in the series are portraits of several early organizational presidents and officers, black and white pictures of the 1968 Victor Gondos Testimonial Dinner, a photo of Victor Gondos at his desk, an assortment of images depicting naval vessels, aircraft, military personnel, and combat actions collected for potential supplements to issues of Military Affairs, as well as amateur pictures taken of SMH awards recipients and panel discussions held at miscellaneous annual conferences.
The United States Commission on Military History records (1973-2002) contain materials pertinent to the operation of the USCMH and the International Commission on Military History. The ICMH is an organization of national organizations that comprises the USCMH and the national commissions of thirty or more countries at any given time. The ICMH convenes annually at a colloquium hosted by a different foreign commission. The bulk of material centers on the annual USCMH meetings and ICMH colloquiums. Reports, agendas, and minutes of USCMH meetings document the operation of the commission. Extensive correspondence and various files associated with the three ICMH colloquiums hosted by the USCMH in 1975, 1982 and 2002 contain detailed information about the accommodations, registration, itineraries, papers and publications necessary for each conference. The papers are divided into ten series: 1) By-Laws, 1974-1997; 2) Membership, 1973-1999; 3) Elections, 1973-1999; 4) Correspondence, 1973-2000; 5) United States Commission on Military History Meetings, 1973-2000; 6) International Commission on Military History Meetings, 1965-2002; 7) Financial, 1973-2000; 8) Printed Material, 1974-1999; 9) Other Historical Associations, 1974-2001; and 10) Audiovisual, 1972 and 1992. The By-Laws series contains the original articles of incorporation of USCMH in 1974 and consequent revisions of the organization's by-laws from 1975-1997. Also included are the by-laws and statutes of the International Commission on Military History. Membership information and data is assembled in the second series. Annual dues payments and registration data for USCHM is included as well as membership lists from both the USCMH and ICMH. All membership information is arranged chronologically from 1973-1999. The election series encompasses all aspects of USCMH elections. Every two years USCMH holds elections for president, vice-president, trustees and members of various committees. Materials within the third series include correspondence relevant to the nomination of officers, biographies of nominated persons, official ballots, and results of the elections. The fourth series contains general correspondence. The material is arranged chronologically and is separated between the USCMH and the ICMH. The material was left together as it was previously arranged and was not divided into categorical sub-series, except when already sorted by the donor organization. The majority of the contents are correspondence written to or by commission officers. Each year the USCMH holds a general membership meeting and a board of trustees meeting. Agendas and minutes of annual USCMH meetings as well as correspondence relevant to the planning and execution of meetings are included in the fifth series. Most notable among these records is the 1998 Report of the Long Range Planning Committee. The ICMH Meetings series contains information on the annual ICMH colloquiums. The colloquiums hosted by the USCMH and held in the United States in 1975, 1982 and 2002 make up the majority of the substance of the sixth series. Financial materials make up the seventh series. The USCMH functions as a not-for-profit organization and operated out of several different accounts. Annual financial reports and bills and receipts are filed chronologically from 1976-1999. Printed materials in the eighth series include USCMH bulletins and newspapers. Circulated to members monthly, the newsletters contain announcements, reports, and remarks from the current president and served as a means of communication to the general membership. Certain published material was removed from the collection and was catalogued for the main library. This included International Review of Military History, 1975-1992; International Bibliography of Military History, 1978-1999; and Proceedings from the ICMH Colloquiums, 1975-2002. The USCMH is affiliated with the American Historical Society and is listed in the AHA Directory of Affiliated Societies. The ninth series also includes information about a variety of other historical associations including newsletters, meetings, and conferences. The audiovisual materials make up the tenth series which contains audio recordings of the 1972 USCMH meeting and the April 15 and November 21, 1992 USCMH Board of Trustees meetings. Written records of the 1992 meetings are located in the USCMH Meetings series, however, no other record of the 1972 meeting exists in this collection.
United States Commission on Military HistoryThe Roper Papers consists predominantly of photocopied letters from Victor Roper to his wife, Alice Roelfs, while he was participating in the European Theater of World War II. Victor ("Vic") and Alice were married only days after he was commissioned as 2nd Lieutenant, and they were together approximately six months before he was shipped overseas. The collection contains facsimiles of 43 handwritten letters and two V-Mails from Victor to his wife while he was stationed in France, Germany, and Austria from January to June 1945. The letters depict a lieutenant’s life before, during, and after combat, as well as reflections on his past and his hopes for the future. The correspondence describes his trans-Atlantic voyage in January 1945, a period of anxious inactivity in France through February, intense combat in Germany in March and April, the end of the war in May while stationed in Austria, and the liberation of the concentration camp near Mauthausen, Austria. The letters contain mundane details of army life, including housing, weather, and food, as well the loneliness of a husband separated from his wife. The letters often discuss the frustration and uncertainty of wartime communications, as letters often took weeks to arrive. They are varied in mood and tone, reflecting the alteration between times of stress and rest. During times of combat, the letters are necessarily vague as to locations and actions, though details are frequently provided in subsequent letters and Victor's accounts of his time overseas are emotionally poignant throughout. The collection also includes a series of letters to Victor’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Floyd Roper, his aunt Clara Wesche, and Alice’s parents, the Roelfs. The facsimiles of 18 letters and one V-Mail to his parents cover the longest period of time, from January to October 1945, including his time in Belgium. Three letters are addressed to his aunt, and one to his parents-in-law. The Subject Series includes copies of various official and personal documents. Military Documents preserve Victor’s official service records, while Personal Documents contain important family papers. Printed Material includes a copy of The 65th Halbert Division Daily News Letter from June 15, 1945, as well as two programs from Army-sponsored church services. A second box of Printed Material includes original copies of wartime newspapers, including The Chanute News, The Stars and Stripes, and Yank: The Army Weekly. The majority of issues were published after the official end of hostilities. The Photograph Series contains 161 photocopies of personal photographs and postcards. Photographs are numbered in the order in which they appeared in the original albums. The pictures capture Victor and Alice in their youth in Kansas, his early military career in Mississippi and Alabama, and portraits of his friends in the service. The largest series of images, taken while Victor was stationed overseas, depict both the landscape of war-torn Europe, as well as casual life within the military. Some notable photographs include images of the Mauthausen camp following its liberation. The photographs have been scanned and digital images can be viewed upon request in the department until they are available through the KSU Digital Library. The documents are housed in two boxes. In the first box, the correspondence is arranged first by the addressee, then chronologically. Other materials are housed by subjects in alphabetical order, followed by the photographs, duplicated in their original album order. The second box holds additional Printed Material, placed in alphabetical order by the publication title.
Roper, VictorThe following 27 letters were donated in honor of Lt. General Richard J. Seitz by Alan G. Greer, husband of Patricia Seitz, the daughter of General Seitz. The collection was donated in April 2014.
The letters describe military operations and diplomatic and political relations between Charles de Gaulle and the Free French resistance, and the British, 1941-1942; 1944.