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University Group 26
Military Personnel Files, 1941-1956
9.5 cf.
The files of the War Records Committee were donated to the University of Idaho Library by Alumni Secretary James M. Lyle in January 1963. They were processed by Judith Nielsen in January 1987.
Prior to the formation of the War Records Committee in September 1943, information on former students, alumni, and staff serving in World War II accumulated in the office of the Dean of Men, the Publications Department, and the Alumni Office. O.A. Fitzgerald, director of publications was asked to head the War Records Committee, whose purpose was to maintain contact with military personnel formerly associated with the university, and to preserve data needed for writing a history of the university and the war. At the end of the war the committee disbanded and a separate War Records Division was established in the Alumni Office, and James Lyle assumed the responsibility for record keeping.
The papers of the War Records Committee span the years 1941 to 1956, with the bulk of the material covering the years 1941-1945.
The papers include all 15 issues of the publication "Letters from the Idaho Campus," a newsletter for and about military personnel, and some committee correspondence and memorandums. The bulk of the material consists of newspaper articles, letters, address cards, and photographs, all pertaining to men and women formerly connected with the university who were later serving in the military. There is also a small section devoted to civilian prisoners of war.
The records of the Alumni Office (UG 25) contain 4x6 cards for MIAS, women in the military, and the Gold Stars.
The material in this archival group was originally in several alphabetical sections. Each individual had his or her own folder. Although folders were combined, the original order was kept. Each series is in alphabetical order, the only filing anomaly being that Mc and Mac are filed at the end of the M's. The women in series IIB are filed under maiden name. The individual folders for military men and women were followed by folders containing alphabetical lists of individuals and material on individuals for whom no folders were made. No attempt was made to integrate these items and they are in folders following the appropriate category.
The first series contains "Letter from the Idaho Campus" and committee memorandums. The remaining series contain address cards, newspaper clippings, correspondence, and photographs of military personnel. The women's section includes Red Cross workers as well as military personnel.
The commendatory letters were those sent to Mr. Fitzgerald by servicemen telling him how much they appreciated the "Letter" as it kept them informed of the whereabouts of other Idaho students. Many similar letters can be found in the regular alphabetical folders.
The Gold Star section contains information on those who died during the war and the information on each person is more numerous than that in the other sections.
The final series includes those who fought in World War II and remained in the service as well as those whose military service began with the Korean War.
Containers I. Committee Papers, 1941-1944 1 II. General Alphabetical File, 1941-1946 1-8 A. Men B. Women C. Civilian Prisoners of War D. Commendatory Letters III. Gold Stars, 1941-1946 8-9 IV. Post World War II, 1943-1956 9-10
Box Folder Description Items.
1 1 "A Letter From the Idaho Campus," 1944-1945 15 2 Correspondence, Memorandums, etc., 1942-1945 40
3-40 Aa-Cal 1865 2 41-85 Cam-Fz 2187 3 86-130 Gaa-Jensen, M. 2129 4 131-175 Jensen, N.-Mis 2162 5 176-220 Mit-Ric 2078 6 221-265 Rid-Ter 2086 7 266-298 Tew-Z 1506 299-320 Lists and those with no folders 429
8 321-338 A-Z 502 339 Lists and those with no folders 46
340-342 A-Z 56
343 A-Z 81
344-385 A-M 1628 9 386-415 Mc-Z 1149
416-441 A-M 992 10 442-454 N-Z 498
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