World War II

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Chester and Agnes McCord Family Papers, 1916-1980 (S0288)
2 cubic foot

 Finding Aid

The Chester and Agnes McCord Family Papers contain correspondence, photographs, postcards, yearbooks, and a scrapbook, pertaining to the family's ownership of the Western Candy Company and LaVerre Grim's service in the United States Armed Forces during World War II.

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Lowell and Margaret M. McMurtrey Papers, 1942-1971 (C4172)
0.3 cubic feet

 Finding Aid

WWII papers and photographs pertaining to Lowell and Margaret McMurtrey of Willow Springs, Missouri. Lowell McMurtrey was captured by German troops in Italy during WWII. Includes correspondence, official notifications from the War Department, photographs, newspaper clippings, and Red Cross Bulletins from 1944.

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Mensie Family Papers, (S0276)
0.5 cubic foot

The Mensie Family Papers contain correspondence, baptismal certificates, photographs, and scrapbooks pertaining to Vernon August Mensie's (1917-1999) service with the 4th Airdrome Squadron of the 5th Air Force during World War II; the death of Vernon's uncle, William Henry Mensie (1887-1967); and Vernon's efforts to trace the lineage of his grandfather, Johann Bernard Mensie and his descendants. Also included in the collection are scrapbooks chronicling Vernon August Mensie's (1917-1999) travels to Colorado and California and his service with the 4th Airdrome Squadron of the 5th Air Force during World War II.

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James R. Miller Papers, 1943-1991 (K0733)
4 c.f.

Contains files, scrapbooks, photographs and tape recordings relevant to Miller's career in law enforcement with an emphasis on the administration of the Clay County, Missouri jail and notes on his World War II intelligence work, including war crimes investigations.

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Robert D. Miller WWII Correspondence, 1945 (S0777)
0.01 cubic foot

 Finding Aid

The Robert D. Miller Correspondence consists of 13 letters written by Robert D. Miller from October 14, 1945, to October 30, 1945, during World War II. Miller, a member of the U.S. Coast Guard, wrote from the Warwick Hotel in St. Louis, Missouri to Geneva Rhoads in Middletown, Ohio.

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Missouri Ex-POWs Oral History Project Records, 2000-2018 (C3975)
1.2 cubic feet (99 folders), 216 audio cassettes, 53 compact discs

 Finding Aid

Interviews with ex-prisoners of war (POWs). The records include audio cassettes, compact discs, and transcripts.

Missouri Hybrid Corn Company (Fulton, Mo.) Records, 1932-1981 (C2966)
5 cubic feet

 Finding Aid

The business records of the first hybrid corn company in Missouri include early company histories, scrapbooks, Italian POW labor records, and extensive financial records.

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Missouri State Museum, Interpretation Program, Oral History Recordings, 1980-2009 (CA6218)
1.2 cubic feet, 410 audio cassettes, 78 video cassettes, 205 DVDs, 3 CDs

 Finding Aid

Oral history interviews with Missourians regarding historical events on audio cassettes, video cassettes, and DVDs. Also includes transcripts and related material such as photographs, negatives, news clippings, obituaries, correspondence, personal accounts, and ephemera.

Missouri Theatre (Columbia, Mo.) Glass Slides Collection, 1920s (CA6403)
30 glass slides

Glass color slides featuring cartoon advertisement for the Missouri Theatre, c. 1920s.

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Missouri Veteran Stories Collection, 2007-2010 (C4089)
934 DVDs, 230 DAT tapes, 5.77 GB of digital files (467 flv files)

 Finding Aid

The collection contains interviews with Missouri veterans on DVDs and DAT tapes.

Missouri Veterans History Project Oral History Records, 2010-2023 (C4052)
6.50 cubic feet, 10 CDs, 1908 DVDs

 Finding Aid

The records of the Missouri Veterans History Project contain the local copy of veteran oral history interviews recorded for the Veterans History Project at the Library of Congress. The records include audio, video, interview logs, and some transcripts. The former Western Historical Manuscript Collection, a joint collection with the State Historical Society of Missouri, was a founding partner of the Veterans History Project in 2001.

Missouri Veterans Oral History Project, 2006-2019 (C4020)
0.4 cubic feet, 2 audio cassettes, 32 CDs, 1 DVD

 Finding Aid

Interviews with Missourians who served in the armed forces. The collection includes compact discs, audio cassettes, DVDs, and transcripts of the interviews, as well as biographical information on the interviewees.

Missouri World War II Ephemera, 1941-1948 (C3530)
1.2 cubic feet (79 folders)

 Finding Aid

Data on Missouri industries’ and civilian and military participation in World War II, collected by the State Historical Society and used for a series of articles in the Missouri Historical Review entitled “Missouri in the War.”

Mixer Family Papers, 1935-1959 (C3989)
0.2 cubic feet (5 folders), 4 oversize items

 Finding Aid

The papers consist of correspondence, photographs, pamphlets, certificates, and military insignias relating to Tech. Sgt. John J. Mixer's military service in World War II, his death in Germany and burial in the Netherlands in 1945, and the subsequent adoption of his grave by a Dutch family.

Montgomery and Diehl Families Papers, circa 1929-1999 (R1298)
0.75 cubic foot (19 folders, 2 CDs)

 Finding Aid

This collection contains the personal papers, postcards, and photographs of the Montgomery and Diehl families of Phelps County. The papers mainly contain family history information and photographs, images of Route 66, family business, and of Phelps County.

Aimee Nott Moore Papers, 1941-1947 (C4635)
0.68 cubic feet (10 folders, 2 volumes)

 Finding Aid

Photographs, postcards, correspondence, scrapbooks, ephemera and clippings of Aimee Nott Moore, a professor, World War II veteran, and the head of the department of Nutrition and Dietetics at the University of Missouri, 1961-1983.

Shirley Rae Tranin Morantz and Stanley Aaron Morantz Papers, 1922-2010 (K0648)
4 c.f.

 Digitized Materials

 Finding Aid

Personal papers of Shirley Morantz, Administrative Secretary for the National Office of the Panel of American Women, and Stanley Morantz, board member of numerous religious and civic groups. Also programs, clippings, military papers, speeches and writings by and organizational publications and awards received Stanley Morantz.

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Morisse Family Papers, 1854-2023 (S0269)
22.3 cubic feet

 Finding Aid

The Morisse Family Papers contain correspondence, photographs, reel-to-reel tapes, and citizenship papers of the Morisse, Zimmerman, Walter, and Rosenthal families of St. Louis, Cape Girardeau, Missouri, as well as Quincy, Illinois. Materials of interest include photograph albums compiled by Herbert Ernest Morisse, documenting the Morisse families' involvement with Boy Scout Troop 21 of the Ethical Society of St. Louis and their outings at Herb Ella cabin along the Black River. The albums also contain photographs chronicling Herbert Ernest Walter Morisse's years as a student at Washington University in the early 1930s. Other materials of interest include correspondence between Marian Morisse and her brothers, Walter and Henry Hoener, during World War II.

Morrow and Johnson Families Papers, 1915-2021 (R1521)
3 cubic feet (85 folders, 1 oversize folder, 1,386 photographs)

 Finding Aid

The Morrow and Johnson Families Papers contain the personal and family papers for Jennings and Lois Johnson Morrow, their parents, and their siblings. The papers include family photographs, travel diaries, newspaper clippings, World War II training books and photographs, academic papers, correspondence, and architectural drawings.

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Elsa Louise Nagel Papers, 1905-1973 (C3910)
0.8 cubic feet

 Finding Aid

Papers of an associate professor of German, University of Missouri, 1926-1966. Includes correspondence with family, friends, and soldiers during World War I and World War II. Also present are newspaper clippings, photographs, and miscellaneous items related to the Nagel and Meusch families.

Earl F. Nelson Papers, 1862-1945 (C0148)
0.2 cubic feet

 Finding Aid

Two Civil War letters; World War II letters; miscellaneous correspondence of Nelson family; speeches by Nelson on U.S. Constitution, history of Sullivan County, and proposal of new Missouri constitution; University of Missouri Law School Foundation bulletin; notes; and other miscellaneous material.

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Newton County, Missouri Military Service Records, ca. 1946 (R1162)
(1 folder)

 Finding Aid

This volume lists residents of Newton County, Missouri, who served in the military during World War II. Included for each veteran are a photographic portrait, rank, names of parents and spouse, education, a summary of service, and the date of discharge.

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John O'Donnell Papers, 1945 (C0902)
1 oversize volume

 Finding Aid

The papers contain copies of his sports column, which was written in the form of letters to servicemen and women during World War II. O'Donnell also printed letters from them.

O'Reilly General Hospital Collection, 1942, 1945 (R1054)
0.2 cubic foot (2 folders, 2 items)

 Digitized Materials

 Finding Aid

The O'Reilly General Hospital Records contain menu and roster booklets from Christmas 1942 and 1945 for the United States Army's O'Reilly General Hospital at Springfield, Missouri. Included are the menu for Christmas dinner and an every-name roster of personnel.

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Edmund C. Oakes Papers, 1943-1987 (S0593)
0.25 cubic foot, 11 folders

This collection consists of correspondence and military papers of Illinois native Edmund C. Oakes (1916-1986) who served in the US Army at the Battle of the Bulge, where he received disabling wounds. He later became Illinois state commander of Disabled American Veterans. The papers include an emergency war-time teaching certificate of his wife Catherine Oakes and correspondence with political figures Otto Kerner and John F. Kennedy.

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Office of Civilian Defense Collection, 1942-1944 (K0343)
0.01 c.f.

 Finding Aid

Personnel directory, daily log, general orders, calendars for the Kansas City World War II era civil defense operation.

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Oliver and Oliver Law Firm Records, 1760-2004 (CG0010)
296 cubic feet

 Finding Aid

The Oliver and Oliver Law Firm Papers contain case files and correspondence of the firm from the 1880s to 1980s. This collection also includes the genealogy of the Oliver and Watkins families, family correspondence, and civic involvements with the Boy Scouts of America, Rotary Club, Sons of the American Revolution, and Presbyterian Church. In addition, this collection contains material related to the Little River Drainage District, Oliver Land and Development Company, and Mingo National Wildlife Refuge.

Oral Histories of the Japanese American Community in St. Louis Collection, 1906-1988 (S0682)
7 cubic feet, 68 folders, 1134 photographs, 21 cassette tapes, 8 books, 6 scrapbooks

 Digitized Materials

 Finding Aid

The Oral Histories of the Japanese American Community in St. Louis Collection documents the experience of Japanese Americans relocation into internment camps and to what life was like for Japanese Americans post-relocation. It includes tapes and transcripts of the oral history interviews conducted as part of Herm Smith's documentation project, which began in 1984. Also included in the collection are the records of the St. Louis Chapter of the Japanese American Citizen League (JACL), which Smith collected during the project. The JACL materials date from the 1950s to the 1970s, and consist of newsletters, newspaper clippings, financial ledgers, meeting minutes, and correspondence, which document the group’s efforts to protect the civil rights of Japanese Americans.

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George W. Parker Papers, 1962-2000s (CA5963)
115 cubic feet, 3 oversize volumes, 176 audio cassettes, 9 audio discs, 47 audio tapes, 10 video cassettes, 3 CDs, 6 oversize items

 Finding Aid

Papers of a World War II bomber pilot and Republican State Representative from Boone County, Missouri, who founded the Pachyderm Club.

William E. Parmenter Papers, 1944-1946 (R1334)
(1 folder)

 Finding Aid

The photocopied journal is the writings of William ""Ted"" E. Parmenter from May 1944 to January 1946 during his tour of duty in the United States Navy.

Dale Thomas Patton Papers, 1944-1994 (K1309)
0.25 c. f.

 Finding Aid

The collection contains the personal papers of Dale Thomas Patton, former Deputy Director of the Regional Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training for the U.S. Department of Labor in Kansas City, Missouri. Included in this collection are letters of recommendation on behalf of Mr. Patton for the position of Deputy Director, correspondence, certificates, a military photograph of Dale Thomas Patton, travel expenses, employee records, pamphlets, a memoir of a World War II combat diver written by William J. Donath, and a 1944 U.S. Naval Aviation yearbook.

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John W. Payne Papers, 1940-2023 (C4707)
0.2 cubic foot (3 folders)

 Finding Aid

Memoir written by engineer officer Daniel P. Griffin to honor his commanding officer John W. Payne upon his death in a plane collision over the Grand Canyon in 1956.

Peace Action Committee of Missouri Collection, 1939-1940 (S0172)
0.01 cubic foot, 1 folder

 Finding Aid

The collection contains newsletters, pamphlets, letters, bulletins, and circulars pertaining to the Peace Action Committee of Missouri’s efforts to lobby the United States government against participating in foreign wars. The group supported political candidates in Missouri and urged Congress to pass the Ludlow War Referendum Amendment in the late 1930s.

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Raymond Peltzman Collection, 1914-2007 (K1140)
6 c.f.

Personal, academic, and professional records of Raymond Peltzman and his wife, Anna Lottie Berkson, and genealogical information about their extended families. Also family photographs and genealogical information about the Alport, Berkson, Dworsky, and Peltzman families.

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Perry County, Missouri Service Roster Collection, 1946 (R0880)
(1 folder)

 Finding Aid

This booklet is entitled "Roster of the Men and Women of Perry County, Missouri, in World War II, issued on the occasion of welcome home celebration inPerryville, Missouri on Augist 14, 1946. It contains an alphabetical list of Perry County's veterans, including a separate list of those who died in service.

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Joseph Peterson Memoir, 2004 (S0587)
0.1 cubic foot

 Finding Aid

The Joseph Peterson Papers consists of a memoir written by Peterson chronicling his life growing up in Texas, his service in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II, and his career in the Air Force and Veterans Affairs. 

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Frank Piepenbring, Jr. Papers, 1933-2009 (K0585)
5 c.f.

 Finding Aid

Personal papers of Kansas City area resident, businessman and World War II veteran. Includes correspondence, publications and printed materials, and World War II military training materials, maps, and photographs.

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Walter Leo Pitts Papers, 1944-1945 (R1389)
0.01 cubic foot (1 folder)

 Finding Aid

The Walter Leo Pitts Papers contain photocopies of four form letters belonging to Walter Leo Pitts during World War II. The letters describe the role the USS Texas played in Operation Overlord, and Operation Dragoon on the coast of France; and the Battle of Iwo Jima in the Pacific.

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John Henry Pohlman Papers, 1938-1949 (S0282)
2.4 cubic feet (52 folders, 16 photographs, 1 photographic negative)

 Digitized Materials

 Finding Aid

The John Henry Pohlman Papers contain correspondence, military orders, and case files pertaining to Pohlman's service in the United States Army during and after World War II. The papers include the case files Pohlman created while working as a legal officer prosecuting Nazi war crimes cases in 1947 as part of the 7708 War Crimes Group.

John Benjamin Powell Papers, 1910-1952 (C3662)
2.9 cubic feet (199 folders)

 Finding Aid

The papers of a journalist include correspondence, literary works, printed material, photographs, and a scrapbook. Drafts for My Twenty-Five Years in China and Powell’s articles (1941-1947) predominate. Information on China, Japan, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Central Asia, India, Philippine Islands, World War II, and the Washington Conference.

Earl Powers Photographs, 1942-1965 (P1041)
3.6 linear feet

 Finding Aid

Photographs by Earl Powers, a photographer and farmer who lived in Columbia, MO. Coverage includes people, events, and places in Columbia and Van Nuys, CA. Additional photographs cover Powers' Air Force service in the South Pacific during WWII.

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Reuben C. Prewitt World War II Notes, 1945 (C3326)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)

 Finding Aid

Notes on Air Force experiences. Cross-country trip to Seattle and description of voyage from Seattle to Iwo Jima and situation at Iwo Jima.

Marvin E. Proffer Scrapbooks, 1941-1949 (CG0006)
0.2 cubic feet

 Finding Aid

The Marvin E. Proffer Scrapbooks contain two scrapbooks of newspaper clippings, postcards, and other memorabilia related to Proffer.

Albert J. Prokes World War II Letters, 1942-1946 (C3466)
1.2 cubic feet (100 folders)

 Digitized Materials

 Finding Aid

Letters received by Reverend Albert J. Prokes, administrator of St. John Nepomuk Catholic Church in St. Louis, Missouri, from parishioners serving in the armed forces during World War II.

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Beatrice Rainwater Papers, 1945 (R1445)
0.1 cubic foot (1 folder)

 Finding Aid

The Beatrice Rainwater Papers contain documents having to do with education during World War II. It contains mail encouraging educators to support the war effort by supporting the war chest fund and other items pertaining to teaching.

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Hannelore Rattee Photograph Collection, 1945 (P0409)
1 folder

World War II photographs: signing of the Japanese Surrender (Sept. 2, 1945) on the USS Missouri, and Guam villages not damaged by war.

Albert L. Reeves, Jr. Papers, 1930-1957 (K0864)
8 c.f.

 Finding Aid

Reeves was an attorney and U.S. Representative from Missouri's 5th District. Includes correspondence, clippings, speeches and articles related to his election campaign, his congressional term and his campaign for re-election. Also his service in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers during World War II.

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Mary Metcalfe Rexford Memoir, 1943-1945 (S0180)
0.2 cubic foot, 8 folders

 Finding Aid

The Mary Metcalfe Rexford Memoirs recalls Rexford’s time serving with the American Red Cross in Great Britain and with Clubmobile Group A on continental Europe from 1943 to 1945. Her husband, Oscar Whitelaw Rexford, compiled information from letters Mary had written and interviews with other Group A members to create this memoir.

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Carl B. Rexroad Papers, 1943-1946 (C4380)
1 cubic foot (44 folders)

 Finding Aid

Correspondence, publications and photographs documenting Carl B. Rexroad's military training and military camp life, both in the United States, and eventually in the Philippines.

Reynolds Family Papers, 1875-1997 (CG0007)
2.6 cubic feet

 Finding Aid

The Reynolds Family Papers contain photographs, correspondence, reel to reel films, and other papers related to the Reynolds family of Morehouse, Missouri from 1875-1997.