World War II Collections
Military Collections
Virginians were involved in the armed forces in several ways in World War II. The Library has collections highlighting individual veterans and their experiences in the Army, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard including photos, letters, military records and accommodations. Virginia was also the location of many Army and Navy and training camps during the war. The collections listed will provide insight into how ingrained Virginia and Virginians were in World War II.
Annabel Long Scrapbook
This scrapbook was created by Annabel Rice Long during her time as a nurse at Fort Belvoir in Fairfax County, Virginia in 1941-42. This book contains newspaper clippings, brochures, postcards, letters, cards, advertising materials, 3D items, and other ephemera. This includes items collected from trips, social events, dinners, weddings, and theaters. Some notable physical items include glass vials, plant clippings, cigarettes, cocktail napkins, party hats, and matchbooks. Many items detail daily life and events at Fort Belvoir. Most items are dated, and many have notes that explain what they are or what event they were from.
Richmond Naval Training School
(Diesel) Photograph Collection
During World War II, the United States Navy had a large contingent of operations based on land. In 1942, the government acquired 840 acres of land just south of Richmond to create the Richmond Naval Training School (Diesel). Because diesel power was crucial for naval operations during the war, this school became an important training center. Every six weeks, a new group of students started intensive courses on diesel engines and electric welding to prepare for their roles as maintenance teams for the fighting navy. This collection of 577 photographs taken by the professional photography studio Foster Studio, features group portraits of the nearly 20,000 individuals who studied at the Richmond Naval Training School between 1942 and 1945.
Profiles of Honor
The Profiles of Honor Digital Collection commemorates the service of Virginians in World War II by preserving digital copies of images and records donated by veterans and their families. These digital donations were scanned as part of the Profiles of Honor Mobile Tour, Virginia's commemoration of the 100th anniversary of World War I and the 75th anniversary of World War II. The Profiles of Honor Mobile Tour featured stories and artifacts from Virginians who served in both wars and highlighted Virginia's significant contributions overseas and on the home front.
U.S. Army Signal Corps Photograph Collection
Photographs from the Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation series, 1942-1946, taken by Army Signal Corps photographers assigned to the port historian's office. The nearly 3,500 photographs depict the arrival and departure of U.S. military personnel and equipment, the preparation and loading of war materials, civilian employees, Red Cross workers, wounded personnel, and German and Italian prisoners of war.
US Army, 29th Infantry Division Drawings and Photographs
The 29th Infantry Division, known as the “Blue and Gray,” played a significant role in World War II. It is best known for its participation in the D-Day invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944, when it landed on Omaha Beach, facing fierce German resistance. The division participated in major battles such as the liberation of Saint-Lo and the capture of the city of Aachen, the first major German city to fall to the Allies. Soldiers of the 29th ID exhibited remarkable resilience and determination, playing a crucial role in the eventual defeat of Nazi Germany. The 29th Infantry Division Collection consists of original drawings by Private Charles E. Murphy, a copy of the publication “Twenty-Nine Let’s Go!” and more than a hundred photographs documenting wartime activities.
Virginia Medal of Honor Recipients
The Congressional Medal of Honor is the highest and most prestigious military decoration for valor in action, bestowed upon service members who demonstrate “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty.”
Fifteen Virginians received the Medal of Honor during World War II. Seven of the Virginia WWII Medal of Honor recipients were able to accept their medals in person, some even awarded by President Roosevelt and President Truman. Eight of these fifteen Medal of Honor recipients from Virginia received the medal posthumously: after they died or killed in action, usually during the act of valor in combat that led to the Medal of Honor being awarded. These medals were received by a family member, most often by a mother or wife.
Survived: Ernest Herbert Dervishian, Desmond Thomas Doss, Robert B. Nett, John Lucian Smith, Junior James Spurrier, George Levick Street III, Alexander Archer Vandegrift Sr.
Posthumously awarded: Lewis Kenneth Bausell, Demas Tharlow Craw, Archer T. Gammon, Jimmie Watters Monteith Jr., Frank D. Peregory, Milton Ernest Ricketts, Joseph Raymond Sarnoski, Raymond Harrell Wilkins
Virginia War Dead
These records consist of Personal War Service Record of Virginia's War Dead questionnaires completed by the next-of-kin of Virginian's killed during World War II. The three-page questionnaire records personal and military data. The first page records personal information including the full name of the soldier, home address at time of enlistment, birth date and place, race, height, weight, name of spouse, date and place of marriage, name and date of birth of children, education, religious affiliation and name of father and mother. The second and third page records military information including, date and place of enlistment, induction or commission, branch of service, prior military service, where trained or stationed, promotions, military honors, circumstances of death (including date and place) and the next of kin. Photographs, letters, newspaper clippings and military service records often accompany the questionnaires.
Homefront Collections
During World War II, programs created focused both on civilian mobilization for the war as well as civilian protection on the home front. This included War Bonds and Stamps, Nutrition Services, Recreation and Youth Group Services, Air Raid Wardens and Shelters, Blackout testing, Health and Hospital Services, Consumer Programs and more. Many of the materials pushed themes of nationalism and individual pride and duty. For the war to be successful and to support the soldiers abroad, civilians were told how essential it was to sacrifice at home and what tasks and steps to take to be effective.
Civilian Defence
Records of the Virginia Office of Civilian Defense, 1939-1947. Focused on civilian mobilization and protection during WWII.
During World War II, federal, state, and local governments created Civilian Defense Councils to effectively organize for protection in the event of an attack on American soil. The programs created focused both on civilian mobilization for the war as well as civilian protection on the home front. This included War Bonds and Stamps, Nutrition Services, Recreation and Youth Group Services, Air Raid Wardens and Shelters, Blackout testing, Health and Hospital Services, Consumer Programs and more.
Public Housing Periodicals
Records of the World War II History Commission, 1941-1950. Bulletins from public housing for military families.
The collection contains bulletins for Carney Park, Commonwealth Apartments, Lewis Park, Liberty Park, Merrimack Park, Oak Leaf Park, Roberts Park. The public housing parks were low-income housing created during World War II to provide homes to the families of enlisted me who $60-157 monthly pay was too little for private housing. During the were 38,000 military personnel based in Norfolk.
The bulletins provide insight into the everyday life and activities of the families of enlisted men during the war from dances, school information, personals and advertisements for jobs.
Roberts Park, Oak Leaf Park, Liberty Park, Carney Park were served for African Americans
World War II Poster Collection
Mobilization of U.S. citizens during WWII through powerful propaganda posters.
During World War II, the United States government mobilized the best ad-men available to create posters that would speak to the nation. The themes portrayed played on deep levels of fear, pride, duty, and victory. In order to beat the enemy, citizens were told through posters that they needed to work hard and sacrifice at home. To that end, the ad-men succeeded. People felt as though their efforts at home were truly helping “the boys” overseas. The Library of Virginia's World War II Poster Collection gathers several hundred of the original posters.
Va. Dept. of Conservation and Development
Division of History, Series II Virginia War History Project, 1942-1946 – blog post
The Virginia State Commission of Conservation and Development was created in 1926 to consolidate and coordinate a number of conservation agencies. During World War II, the Commission suspended its popular historical marker program due to the rationing of metals. In its place, the Commission inaugurated a War records program including a newspaper reference file and a correspondence program in which a non-salaried correspondent from each locality sent reports about local war time activities and local war activities and reaction to the war.
WWII Finance Ephemera Collection (War Loan Drives)
The financial burden of World War II amounted to more than 300 billion dollars. The Roosevelt Administration financed the expense through a complicated combination of increased taxes and borrowing, and through the sale of war bonds. Massive amounts of printed ephemera were created to encourage citizens to purchase “Liberty Bonds,” often appealing to patriotism and the idea of contributing to the fight against the enemy. This collection of several hundred items of WWII financial ephemera is arranged both by format (posters, brochures, radio transcripts, war stamps, certificates) and specific loan (Victory Loan, 2nd War Loan, 3rd War Loan, ... 7th War Loan).
WWII Propaganda Collection
Collection of WWII newsletters, flyers, and magazines from various countries promoting the war effort.
The World War II propaganda collection includes newsletters, press releases, newspapers, leaflets, flyers, and magazines. Mainly published in New York, the collection also includes foreign language titles for distribution in home countries to promote the war effort. The collection contains hundreds of individual titles and is organized by country of origin in chronological order. The countries with the most representation in the collection are Czechoslovakia, France, Netherlands, United Kingdom, and the United States. Other countries represented are Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Finland, Germany, Greece, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, Palestine, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and Yugoslavia.
War Years
Additional records can be found in other Library’s collections during the War Years (1939-1940), such as the Governor’s records, relevant maps, military newspapers in Virginia Chronicle, the WRVA Radio collection, and the Virginia Digital Yearbooks providing deeper understanding of the time period.
Maps
Maps played a vital role during World War II. Not only did they aid in planning military operations, maps were also used to communicate the scale of the conflict to soldiers, such as the “We Fight a Global War” map designed by the U.S. Navy Bureau of Naval Personnel Training Aids. Maps of the European Theater and Pacific Theater were also designed, showing supply lines, important battles, and invasion routes.
WRVA Radio Collection
The WRVA Radio Collection spans seventy-five years and contains applause letters, minutes, anniversary booklets, program scripts, program guides, newsletters, histories, interviews, employee questionnaires, sales manuals, audience and sales promotions, rate cards, listener surveys, posters, newspaper clippings, FCC applications and reports, drawings, photographs, and sound recordings. This material documents the history of WRVA, the role the station played in Virginia and Richmond for over half a century, and the development of radio in Virginia and the United States.
Virginia Yearbooks Digital Collection
Many students during WWII, both in the armed services and support services, were recognized and remembered in their local school yearbooks. For example, one digitized yearbook from the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company Apprentice Program depicts an era in Virginia when many young men from the Tidewater region either served in the military or worked at the shipyard. The yearbook dedication reads, “To the all important role played by the shipbuilder in the fight for our American way of life, we humbly dedicate the 1942 Binnacle.” The Colonnade in Culpeper and The Axtonian in Henry County listed fallen classmates in dedications. Fairfax High School participated in the Victory Corps, which they described as a “national voluntary organization for secondary schools for the purpose of mobilizing high school youth for more effective preparation for and participation in wartime services in both school and community.” The group is featured in the Fare Fac Sampler issues 1942-1944. In addition to preparedness and dedication to duty, these yearbooks also expressed hope for the future beyond the war in “the world of tomorrow.”
