{"links":{"self":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Baccess_subjects%5D%5B%5D=Soldiers--Recreation\u0026view=compact","last":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Baccess_subjects%5D%5B%5D=Soldiers--Recreation\u0026page=1\u0026view=compact"},"meta":{"pages":{"current_page":1,"next_page":null,"prev_page":null,"total_pages":1,"limit_value":10,"offset_value":0,"total_count":2,"first_page?":true,"last_page?":true}},"data":[{"id":"viw_repositories_2_resources_2430","type":"collection","attributes":{"title":"Edgar Carl Hermann Diaries, 1912/1922","creator":{"id":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/viw_repositories_2_resources_2430#creator","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":"Hermann, Edgar Carl","label":"Creator"}},"abstract_or_scope":{"id":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/viw_repositories_2_resources_2430#abstract_or_scope","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":"\u003cp\u003eThis collection contains the diaries, 1912-1922, of Edgar Carl Hermann of Sheboygan, Wisconsin. The first diary concerns Hermann's daily life as a worker for a railroad. There are two diaries from 1919, both of which describe Hermann's service during World War I. They include his service in France and Germany and his two week trip to Paris during his leave time. There are also diaries from 1920, 1921, and 1922.\u003c/p\u003e","label":"Abstract Or Scope"}},"breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/viw_repositories_2_resources_2430#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"id":"viw_repositories_2_resources_2430","ead_ssi":"viw_repositories_2_resources_2430","_root_":"viw_repositories_2_resources_2430","_nest_parent_":"viw_repositories_2_resources_2430","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/WM/repositories_2_resources_2430.xml","title_ssm":["Edgar Carl Hermann Diaries"],"title_tesim":["Edgar Carl Hermann Diaries"],"unitdate_ssm":["1912-1922"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1912-1922"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1912/1922"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Edgar Carl Hermann Diaries, 1912/1922"],"text":["Edgar Carl Hermann Diaries, 1912/1922","SC 01301","/repositories/2/resources/2430","Soldiers--Recreation","St. Paul (Minn.)--Description and travel","Sunday schools","World War, 1914-1918","World War, 1914-1918--France","World War, 1914-1918--Military life--American","Diaries","Collection is open to all researchers. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, such as the Virginia Public Records Act (Code of Virginia. § 42.1-76-91); and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Code of Virginia § 2.2-3705.5). Confidential material may include, but is not limited to, educational, medical, and personnel records. If sensitive material is found in this collection, please contact a staff member immediately. The disclosure of personally identifiable information pertaining to a living individual may have legal consequences for which the College of William and Mary assumes no responsibility.","Edgar Carl Hermann was born September 18, 1888, in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Before 1910, he had moved to St. Paul, Minnesota, where he worked as a stenographer for a railroad company eventually becoming chief clerk of the saftey bureau. In 1917 he was drafted into the Army in which he served as a clerk in the vicinity of Coblenz, Germany. Upon returning to the United States in 1919, he lived in St. Paul at least through 1922. He moved to Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, some time before 1930 where he worked as a saleman. His spouse was Leila H. Hermann and their son was Edgar W. Hermann. His date of death is August 30, 1953.","This collection ID was formerly Mss. Acc. 2012.315.","Accessioned and minimally processed by Benjamin Bromley in August 2012. Detailed description authored by Matthew Thompson November 2014. Revised in March 2018 by Karen King.","Armed Conflicts and the Military in the Special Collections Research Center. \nInformation about related materials is available at http://guides.swem.wm.edu/armedconflicts","This collection contains the diaries, 1912-1922, of Edgar Carl Hermann of Sheboygan, Wisconsin. The first diary concerns Hermann's daily life as a worker for a railroad. There are two diaries from 1919, both of which describe Hermann's service during World War I. They include his service in France and Germany and his two week trip to Paris during his leave time. There are also diaries from 1920, 1921, and 1922.","Most of the entries describe Hermann's daily life in St. Paul, Minnesota. Church and recreational activities are the events most typically described. Often these include references to landmarks in and around Minneapolis and St. Paul. Some of the place names include the Hippodrome, Hollow Rink, Bridge Square Hotel, Merchant's Hotel, Grand Central Hotel, the De Luxe Theater, the New Aster Theater, Oakland Cemetery, and Forest Cemetery. He also visits many of the parks and natural features of the area especially Indian Mounds Park, Phalen Park, Como Park, and Lexington Park.","Church activities dominate Hermann's diary entries. Regular entries are made for prayer meetings, choir rehearsals and performances, preparing for holiday programs, and many different kinds of committee meetings. His main recurring responsibility is leading Sunday school and he makes frequent note of the study and preparation that goes into this including attending professional development conferences.","This folder contains three pocket diaries. The cover of the 1912 diary reads \"The North Western Line – Diary 1912 – Compliments of C.St.P.M. and O.Ry.\" There are two diaries from 1919; the larger black diary has the title \"Bagels Termin-Kalender\" and contains complete daily entries with the months January–June covering Hermann's service in Europe during World War I. The smaller black leather diary with the title \"Compliments Chicago-New York\" only contains entries about Hermann's trip to Paris in March 1919, supplementing his regular entries in his daily diary.","In the 1912 diary, Hermann enjoys a \"Hard Times\" party. A friend's wife dies of spinal meningitis. He hears both Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson deliver speeches. At a friend's house, Hermann listens to a Graphophone. In the summer, he attends Saengerfest and in the fall he goes to the ball park to watch the scoreboard returns come in from the World Series between the Giants and the Red Sox.","The 1919 diary begins with Hermannn in the vicinity of Coblenz, Germany, during World War I. In it, he describes his daily life, recreational activities, and work routine. The diary entries make special note of the many letters and cards he writes and receives, as well as his friendships with local families. Place names used in these entries include: Wallershein, St. Sabastian, Rhine River, Coblenz, Neunendorf, Ehrenbreitstein, Kaltenengers, Bubenheim, and Cologne.","Hermann's military service is as a clerk and his typical work activities include composing billeting lists, filling out qualification cards, creating roster lists, handling payroll and dispensation, and responding to professional criticism from his superiors. In addition to this he must also complete typical military exercises including short arms inspection, drills, louse inspection, records inspection, and as they ready to depart Europe packing the records ahead of departure and composing sailing lists.","Hermann makes special mention on the many recreational activities the men enjoy including listening to the regiment band, holiday parties, basketball, and baseball. He also reads the book, \"God's Country and the Woman.\" There are many YMCA sponsored activities such as lectures and variety shows including circus performers, minstrel shows, and vaudeville. The YMCA also provides movies and Hermann attends \"Manhattan Madness,\" \"Mutt and Jeff,\" \"Fatty Arbuckle,\" \"The Dawnmaker,\" and a feature starring Mary Pickford. During this time Hermann tries and fails to successfully organize a Bible study class with the YMCA chaplain.","The WWI entries conclude in June with the men traveling west by train eventually arriving in Saint-Nazaire where they will sail for the United States. Place names mentioned include: Joul, Dijon, Nevers, Savenay, Angers, Sable, Gastines, Nantes, and Saint-Nazaire. He notes he \"saw quite a few U.S. soldiers with French wives.\" Also there was a spinal meningitis outbreak resulting in quarantine just days before they sail. The voyage itself was on the USS Artemis and takes twelve days to reach Hampton Roads. Hermann notes cheering and family reunions at Old Point Comfort before he departs Camp Stuart by train traveling through Richmond, Charlottesville, across the Blue Ridge to West Virginia, Cincinnati, and finally arriving at Chicago where he reports to Camp Grant. While at Camp Grant he is held up for several days due to a tonsil infection and missing paper work before he can go home to St. Paul.","The remainder of the 1919 diary describes Hermann's readjustment to ordinary life in St. Paul including a few weeks' vacation after discharge. He regularly attends movies including \"The Outlaw,\" and two Mary Pickford features, \"Daddy Long Legs\" and \"The Hoodlum.\" He hears President Woodrow Wilson deliver a speech on the League of Nations and Versailles Treaty. He also maintains active correspondence with his friends in Germany. His church activities are dominated by construction work as his congregation prepares to move to a new building.","In March 1919, Hermann receives permission to take a furlough in Paris, which is described in his regular diary and also a supplemental diary. On March 16 he departs St. Sebastian by train for Paris with a layover in Joul, returning on March 21. While in Paris he takes the subway to Versailles and tours the palace and gardens. H he tours the Latin Quarter, the Museum of Luxemburg, the Pantheon, the University of Paris Law Library, the Tower of Clovis, tht Church of St. Genevieve, and Sarbourne Chapel. He goes on a cruise of the Seine River and sees Notre Dame, the Church of St. Gervais, the Tower of St. Germaine, the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty, and Mount Marc. While on a bus tour he sees the Hotel DeVille, the Church of Gervais, Notre Dame, the Palace of Justine, Sainte-Chapelle, the Louvre, the Arc de Carrousel, the Eiffel tower, the Chamber of Deputies, the Pantheon de la Guerre, the Statue of Washington, the Palais de Glass, the Grand Palais, the Place de la Concorde, the Palace Royal, and the Church of Madeleine. He also takes in a show at the Casino de Paris.","This folder contains two pocket diaries. The 1920 diary is brown and the 1921 diary is green and bears the title \"Standard Diary No.516.\"","In the 1920 diary, Hermann joins the Freemasons at Braden Lodge and quickly advances in rank there. There is the usual involvement in church activities; he volunteers to audit the church's finances in advance of their application for an equity mortgage, and becomes involved in the Forward Movement. In May there is a city election and he notes that all but one councilman were ousted. Hermann recounts having his wisdom teeth pulled. In September he attends the State Fair and participates in a veteran's reunion of \"Company F.\" He hears a speech from then Senator Warren G. Harding and in December he describes playing records on a phonograph.","In January 1921, Hermann departs on an extended vacation to visit a friend in California. He travels by train through South Dakota and North Dakota, heading west through Montana and across the Cascades. He arrives in Seattle, Washington, and travels by train to Portland, Oregon, then on to Sacramento, California, and finally Los Angeles, California. In Los Angeles he meets his friend and they rent a car and drive to San Diego, California, and on to Tiajuana, Mexico. While California, he visits Hollywood, Venice, and Ocean Beach. He departs Los Angeles by train to Kansas City, Missouri, passing through Winslow, Arizona, Clovis, New Mexico, and Amarillo, Texas. From Kansas City he returns by train to St. Paul, Minnesota. In February he sees Theda Bara in \"Cleopatra,\" and in May watches the Human Fly climb the Commerce Building downtown. Hermann is laid off from work and takes up a new temporary job. He hears the Dempsy-Carpentier fight on the radio and unsuccessfully tries to sell his duplex. In the fall he attends the dedication of the St. Paul municipal pipe organ. His church activities include successfully organizing a men's club. Hermann is briefly hospitalized for chronic gastritis before landing a permanent job at Marvel Battery Company.","This folder contains one red pocket diary from 1922 and an address book from 1931.","In the 1922 diary, Hermann continues to show his dedication to Sunday school instruction by completing teacher training school. He listens to the radio and plays a lot of tennis. In September, his sister is hospitalized for nephritis and passes away; his family and friends come to St. Paul for the funeral. In November, Hermann notes his surprise that Senator Frank B. Kellog is defeated for re-election.","Contains addresses and birthdays for Hermann's friends and family.","Before reproducing or quoting from any materials, in whole or in part, permission must be obtained from the Special Collections Research Center, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library.","Special Collections Research Center","Hermann, Edgar Carl","English"],"collection_title_tesim":["Edgar Carl Hermann Diaries, 1912/1922"],"collection_ssim":["Edgar Carl Hermann Diaries, 1912/1922"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["SC 01301","/repositories/2/resources/2430"],"unitid_tesim":["SC 01301","/repositories/2/resources/2430"],"repository_ssm":["College of William and Mary"],"repository_ssim":["College of William and Mary"],"creator_ssm":["Hermann, Edgar Carl"],"creator_ssim":["Hermann, Edgar Carl"],"creator_corpname_ssim":["Special Collections Research Center"],"creator_famname_ssim":["Hermann, Edgar Carl"],"creators_ssim":["Special Collections Research Center","Hermann, Edgar Carl"],"access_terms_ssm":["Before reproducing or quoting from any materials, in whole or in part, permission must be obtained from the Special Collections Research Center, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Soldiers--Recreation","St. Paul (Minn.)--Description and travel","Sunday schools","World War, 1914-1918","World War, 1914-1918--France","World War, 1914-1918--Military life--American","Diaries"],"access_subjects_ssm":["Soldiers--Recreation","St. Paul (Minn.)--Description and travel","Sunday schools","World War, 1914-1918","World War, 1914-1918--France","World War, 1914-1918--Military life--American","Diaries"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["0.25 Linear Feet"],"extent_tesim":["0.25 Linear Feet"],"genreform_ssim":["Diaries"],"date_range_isim":[1912,1913,1914,1915,1916,1917,1918,1919,1920,1921,1922],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eCollection is open to all researchers. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, such as the Virginia Public Records Act (Code of Virginia. § 42.1-76-91); and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Code of Virginia § 2.2-3705.5). Confidential material may include, but is not limited to, educational, medical, and personnel records. If sensitive material is found in this collection, please contact a staff member immediately. The disclosure of personally identifiable information pertaining to a living individual may have legal consequences for which the College of William and Mary assumes no responsibility.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Access:"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["Collection is open to all researchers. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, such as the Virginia Public Records Act (Code of Virginia. § 42.1-76-91); and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Code of Virginia § 2.2-3705.5). Confidential material may include, but is not limited to, educational, medical, and personnel records. If sensitive material is found in this collection, please contact a staff member immediately. The disclosure of personally identifiable information pertaining to a living individual may have legal consequences for which the College of William and Mary assumes no responsibility."],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eEdgar Carl Hermann was born September 18, 1888, in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Before 1910, he had moved to St. Paul, Minnesota, where he worked as a stenographer for a railroad company eventually becoming chief clerk of the saftey bureau. In 1917 he was drafted into the Army in which he served as a clerk in the vicinity of Coblenz, Germany. Upon returning to the United States in 1919, he lived in St. Paul at least through 1922. He moved to Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, some time before 1930 where he worked as a saleman. His spouse was Leila H. Hermann and their son was Edgar W. Hermann. His date of death is August 30, 1953.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Administrative History:"],"bioghist_tesim":["Edgar Carl Hermann was born September 18, 1888, in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Before 1910, he had moved to St. Paul, Minnesota, where he worked as a stenographer for a railroad company eventually becoming chief clerk of the saftey bureau. In 1917 he was drafted into the Army in which he served as a clerk in the vicinity of Coblenz, Germany. Upon returning to the United States in 1919, he lived in St. Paul at least through 1922. He moved to Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, some time before 1930 where he worked as a saleman. His spouse was Leila H. Hermann and their son was Edgar W. Hermann. His date of death is August 30, 1953."],"custodhist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThis collection ID was formerly Mss. Acc. 2012.315.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"custodhist_heading_ssm":["Custodial History"],"custodhist_tesim":["This collection ID was formerly Mss. Acc. 2012.315."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eAccessioned and minimally processed by Benjamin Bromley in August 2012. Detailed description authored by Matthew Thompson November 2014. Revised in March 2018 by Karen King.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information:"],"processinfo_tesim":["Accessioned and minimally processed by Benjamin Bromley in August 2012. Detailed description authored by Matthew Thompson November 2014. Revised in March 2018 by Karen King."],"relatedmaterial_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eArmed Conflicts and the Military in the Special Collections Research Center. \nInformation about related materials is available at http://guides.swem.wm.edu/armedconflicts\u003c/p\u003e  "],"relatedmaterial_heading_ssm":["Related Materials:"],"relatedmaterial_tesim":["Armed Conflicts and the Military in the Special Collections Research Center. \nInformation about related materials is available at http://guides.swem.wm.edu/armedconflicts"],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThis collection contains the diaries, 1912-1922, of Edgar Carl Hermann of Sheboygan, Wisconsin. The first diary concerns Hermann's daily life as a worker for a railroad. There are two diaries from 1919, both of which describe Hermann's service during World War I. They include his service in France and Germany and his two week trip to Paris during his leave time. There are also diaries from 1920, 1921, and 1922.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMost of the entries describe Hermann's daily life in St. Paul, Minnesota. Church and recreational activities are the events most typically described. Often these include references to landmarks in and around Minneapolis and St. Paul. Some of the place names include the Hippodrome, Hollow Rink, Bridge Square Hotel, Merchant's Hotel, Grand Central Hotel, the De Luxe Theater, the New Aster Theater, Oakland Cemetery, and Forest Cemetery. He also visits many of the parks and natural features of the area especially Indian Mounds Park, Phalen Park, Como Park, and Lexington Park.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eChurch activities dominate Hermann's diary entries. Regular entries are made for prayer meetings, choir rehearsals and performances, preparing for holiday programs, and many different kinds of committee meetings. His main recurring responsibility is leading Sunday school and he makes frequent note of the study and preparation that goes into this including attending professional development conferences.\u003c/p\u003e  ","\u003cp\u003eThis folder contains three pocket diaries. The cover of the 1912 diary reads \"The North Western Line – Diary 1912 – Compliments of C.St.P.M. and O.Ry.\" There are two diaries from 1919; the larger black diary has the title \"Bagels Termin-Kalender\" and contains complete daily entries with the months January–June covering Hermann's service in Europe during World War I. The smaller black leather diary with the title \"Compliments Chicago-New York\" only contains entries about Hermann's trip to Paris in March 1919, supplementing his regular entries in his daily diary.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIn the 1912 diary, Hermann enjoys a \"Hard Times\" party. A friend's wife dies of spinal meningitis. He hears both Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson deliver speeches. At a friend's house, Hermann listens to a Graphophone. In the summer, he attends Saengerfest and in the fall he goes to the ball park to watch the scoreboard returns come in from the World Series between the Giants and the Red Sox.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe 1919 diary begins with Hermannn in the vicinity of Coblenz, Germany, during World War I. In it, he describes his daily life, recreational activities, and work routine. The diary entries make special note of the many letters and cards he writes and receives, as well as his friendships with local families. Place names used in these entries include: Wallershein, St. Sabastian, Rhine River, Coblenz, Neunendorf, Ehrenbreitstein, Kaltenengers, Bubenheim, and Cologne.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eHermann's military service is as a clerk and his typical work activities include composing billeting lists, filling out qualification cards, creating roster lists, handling payroll and dispensation, and responding to professional criticism from his superiors. In addition to this he must also complete typical military exercises including short arms inspection, drills, louse inspection, records inspection, and as they ready to depart Europe packing the records ahead of departure and composing sailing lists. \u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eHermann makes special mention on the many recreational activities the men enjoy including listening to the regiment band, holiday parties, basketball, and baseball. He also reads the book, \"God's Country and the Woman.\" There are many YMCA sponsored activities such as lectures and variety shows including circus performers, minstrel shows, and vaudeville. The YMCA also provides movies and Hermann attends \"Manhattan Madness,\" \"Mutt and Jeff,\" \"Fatty Arbuckle,\" \"The Dawnmaker,\" and a feature starring Mary Pickford. During this time Hermann tries and fails to successfully organize a Bible study class with the YMCA chaplain. \u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe WWI entries conclude in June with the men traveling west by train eventually arriving in Saint-Nazaire where they will sail for the United States. Place names mentioned include: Joul, Dijon, Nevers, Savenay, Angers, Sable, Gastines, Nantes, and Saint-Nazaire. He notes he \"saw quite a few U.S. soldiers with French wives.\" Also there was a spinal meningitis outbreak resulting in quarantine just days before they sail. The voyage itself was on the USS Artemis and takes twelve days to reach Hampton Roads. Hermann notes cheering and family reunions at Old Point Comfort before he departs Camp Stuart by train traveling through Richmond, Charlottesville, across the Blue Ridge to West Virginia, Cincinnati, and finally arriving at Chicago where he reports to Camp Grant. While at Camp Grant he is held up for several days due to a tonsil infection and missing paper work before he can go home to St. Paul. \u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe remainder of the 1919 diary describes Hermann's readjustment to ordinary life in St. Paul including a few weeks' vacation after discharge. He regularly attends movies including \"The Outlaw,\" and two Mary Pickford features, \"Daddy Long Legs\" and \"The Hoodlum.\" He hears President Woodrow Wilson deliver a speech on the League of Nations and Versailles Treaty. He also maintains active correspondence with his friends in Germany. His church activities are dominated by construction work as his congregation prepares to move to a new building.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIn March 1919, Hermann receives permission to take a furlough in Paris, which is described in his regular diary and also a supplemental diary. On March 16 he departs St. Sebastian by train for Paris with a layover in Joul, returning on March 21. While in Paris he takes the subway to Versailles and tours the palace and gardens. H he tours the Latin Quarter, the Museum of Luxemburg, the Pantheon, the University of Paris Law Library, the Tower of Clovis, tht Church of St. Genevieve, and Sarbourne Chapel. He goes on a cruise of the Seine River and sees Notre Dame, the Church of St. Gervais, the Tower of St. Germaine, the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty, and Mount Marc. While on a bus tour he sees the Hotel DeVille, the Church of Gervais, Notre Dame, the Palace of Justine, Sainte-Chapelle, the Louvre, the Arc de Carrousel, the Eiffel tower, the Chamber of Deputies, the Pantheon de la Guerre, the Statue of Washington, the Palais de Glass, the Grand Palais, the Place de la Concorde, the Palace Royal, and the Church of Madeleine. He also takes in a show at the Casino de Paris.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis folder contains two pocket diaries. The 1920 diary is brown and the 1921 diary is green and bears the title \"Standard Diary No.516.\"\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIn the 1920 diary, Hermann joins the Freemasons at Braden Lodge and quickly advances in rank there. There is the usual involvement in church activities; he volunteers to audit the church's finances in advance of their application for an equity mortgage, and becomes involved in the Forward Movement. In May there is a city election and he notes that all but one councilman were ousted. Hermann recounts having his wisdom teeth pulled. In September he attends the State Fair and participates in a veteran's reunion of \"Company F.\" He hears a speech from then Senator Warren G. Harding and in December he describes playing records on a phonograph.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIn January 1921, Hermann departs on an extended vacation to visit a friend in California. He travels by train through South Dakota and North Dakota, heading west through Montana and across the Cascades. He arrives in Seattle, Washington, and travels by train to Portland, Oregon, then on to Sacramento, California, and finally Los Angeles, California. In Los Angeles he meets his friend and they rent a car and drive to San Diego, California, and on to Tiajuana, Mexico. While California, he visits Hollywood, Venice, and Ocean Beach. He departs Los Angeles by train to Kansas City, Missouri, passing through Winslow, Arizona, Clovis, New Mexico, and Amarillo, Texas. From Kansas City he returns by train to St. Paul, Minnesota. In February he sees Theda Bara in \"Cleopatra,\" and in May watches the Human Fly climb the Commerce Building downtown. Hermann is laid off from work and takes up a new temporary job. He hears the Dempsy-Carpentier fight on the radio and unsuccessfully tries to sell his duplex. In the fall he attends the dedication of the St. Paul municipal pipe organ. His church activities include successfully organizing a men's club. Hermann is briefly hospitalized for chronic gastritis before landing a permanent job at Marvel Battery Company.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis folder contains one red pocket diary from 1922 and an address book from 1931.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIn the 1922 diary, Hermann continues to show his dedication to Sunday school instruction by completing teacher training school. He listens to the radio and plays a lot of tennis. In September, his sister is hospitalized for nephritis and passes away; his family and friends come to St. Paul for the funeral. In November, Hermann notes his surprise that Senator Frank B. Kellog is defeated for re-election.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eContains addresses and birthdays for Hermann's friends and family.\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Contents","Scope and Contents","Scope and Contents","Scope and Contents","Scope and Contents","Scope and Contents","Scope and Contents","Scope and Contents","Scope and Contents","Scope and Contents","Scope and Contents"],"scopecontent_tesim":["This collection contains the diaries, 1912-1922, of Edgar Carl Hermann of Sheboygan, Wisconsin. The first diary concerns Hermann's daily life as a worker for a railroad. There are two diaries from 1919, both of which describe Hermann's service during World War I. They include his service in France and Germany and his two week trip to Paris during his leave time. There are also diaries from 1920, 1921, and 1922.","Most of the entries describe Hermann's daily life in St. Paul, Minnesota. Church and recreational activities are the events most typically described. Often these include references to landmarks in and around Minneapolis and St. Paul. Some of the place names include the Hippodrome, Hollow Rink, Bridge Square Hotel, Merchant's Hotel, Grand Central Hotel, the De Luxe Theater, the New Aster Theater, Oakland Cemetery, and Forest Cemetery. He also visits many of the parks and natural features of the area especially Indian Mounds Park, Phalen Park, Como Park, and Lexington Park.","Church activities dominate Hermann's diary entries. Regular entries are made for prayer meetings, choir rehearsals and performances, preparing for holiday programs, and many different kinds of committee meetings. His main recurring responsibility is leading Sunday school and he makes frequent note of the study and preparation that goes into this including attending professional development conferences.","This folder contains three pocket diaries. The cover of the 1912 diary reads \"The North Western Line – Diary 1912 – Compliments of C.St.P.M. and O.Ry.\" There are two diaries from 1919; the larger black diary has the title \"Bagels Termin-Kalender\" and contains complete daily entries with the months January–June covering Hermann's service in Europe during World War I. The smaller black leather diary with the title \"Compliments Chicago-New York\" only contains entries about Hermann's trip to Paris in March 1919, supplementing his regular entries in his daily diary.","In the 1912 diary, Hermann enjoys a \"Hard Times\" party. A friend's wife dies of spinal meningitis. He hears both Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson deliver speeches. At a friend's house, Hermann listens to a Graphophone. In the summer, he attends Saengerfest and in the fall he goes to the ball park to watch the scoreboard returns come in from the World Series between the Giants and the Red Sox.","The 1919 diary begins with Hermannn in the vicinity of Coblenz, Germany, during World War I. In it, he describes his daily life, recreational activities, and work routine. The diary entries make special note of the many letters and cards he writes and receives, as well as his friendships with local families. Place names used in these entries include: Wallershein, St. Sabastian, Rhine River, Coblenz, Neunendorf, Ehrenbreitstein, Kaltenengers, Bubenheim, and Cologne.","Hermann's military service is as a clerk and his typical work activities include composing billeting lists, filling out qualification cards, creating roster lists, handling payroll and dispensation, and responding to professional criticism from his superiors. In addition to this he must also complete typical military exercises including short arms inspection, drills, louse inspection, records inspection, and as they ready to depart Europe packing the records ahead of departure and composing sailing lists.","Hermann makes special mention on the many recreational activities the men enjoy including listening to the regiment band, holiday parties, basketball, and baseball. He also reads the book, \"God's Country and the Woman.\" There are many YMCA sponsored activities such as lectures and variety shows including circus performers, minstrel shows, and vaudeville. The YMCA also provides movies and Hermann attends \"Manhattan Madness,\" \"Mutt and Jeff,\" \"Fatty Arbuckle,\" \"The Dawnmaker,\" and a feature starring Mary Pickford. During this time Hermann tries and fails to successfully organize a Bible study class with the YMCA chaplain.","The WWI entries conclude in June with the men traveling west by train eventually arriving in Saint-Nazaire where they will sail for the United States. Place names mentioned include: Joul, Dijon, Nevers, Savenay, Angers, Sable, Gastines, Nantes, and Saint-Nazaire. He notes he \"saw quite a few U.S. soldiers with French wives.\" Also there was a spinal meningitis outbreak resulting in quarantine just days before they sail. The voyage itself was on the USS Artemis and takes twelve days to reach Hampton Roads. Hermann notes cheering and family reunions at Old Point Comfort before he departs Camp Stuart by train traveling through Richmond, Charlottesville, across the Blue Ridge to West Virginia, Cincinnati, and finally arriving at Chicago where he reports to Camp Grant. While at Camp Grant he is held up for several days due to a tonsil infection and missing paper work before he can go home to St. Paul.","The remainder of the 1919 diary describes Hermann's readjustment to ordinary life in St. Paul including a few weeks' vacation after discharge. He regularly attends movies including \"The Outlaw,\" and two Mary Pickford features, \"Daddy Long Legs\" and \"The Hoodlum.\" He hears President Woodrow Wilson deliver a speech on the League of Nations and Versailles Treaty. He also maintains active correspondence with his friends in Germany. His church activities are dominated by construction work as his congregation prepares to move to a new building.","In March 1919, Hermann receives permission to take a furlough in Paris, which is described in his regular diary and also a supplemental diary. On March 16 he departs St. Sebastian by train for Paris with a layover in Joul, returning on March 21. While in Paris he takes the subway to Versailles and tours the palace and gardens. H he tours the Latin Quarter, the Museum of Luxemburg, the Pantheon, the University of Paris Law Library, the Tower of Clovis, tht Church of St. Genevieve, and Sarbourne Chapel. He goes on a cruise of the Seine River and sees Notre Dame, the Church of St. Gervais, the Tower of St. Germaine, the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty, and Mount Marc. While on a bus tour he sees the Hotel DeVille, the Church of Gervais, Notre Dame, the Palace of Justine, Sainte-Chapelle, the Louvre, the Arc de Carrousel, the Eiffel tower, the Chamber of Deputies, the Pantheon de la Guerre, the Statue of Washington, the Palais de Glass, the Grand Palais, the Place de la Concorde, the Palace Royal, and the Church of Madeleine. He also takes in a show at the Casino de Paris.","This folder contains two pocket diaries. The 1920 diary is brown and the 1921 diary is green and bears the title \"Standard Diary No.516.\"","In the 1920 diary, Hermann joins the Freemasons at Braden Lodge and quickly advances in rank there. There is the usual involvement in church activities; he volunteers to audit the church's finances in advance of their application for an equity mortgage, and becomes involved in the Forward Movement. In May there is a city election and he notes that all but one councilman were ousted. Hermann recounts having his wisdom teeth pulled. In September he attends the State Fair and participates in a veteran's reunion of \"Company F.\" He hears a speech from then Senator Warren G. Harding and in December he describes playing records on a phonograph.","In January 1921, Hermann departs on an extended vacation to visit a friend in California. He travels by train through South Dakota and North Dakota, heading west through Montana and across the Cascades. He arrives in Seattle, Washington, and travels by train to Portland, Oregon, then on to Sacramento, California, and finally Los Angeles, California. In Los Angeles he meets his friend and they rent a car and drive to San Diego, California, and on to Tiajuana, Mexico. While California, he visits Hollywood, Venice, and Ocean Beach. He departs Los Angeles by train to Kansas City, Missouri, passing through Winslow, Arizona, Clovis, New Mexico, and Amarillo, Texas. From Kansas City he returns by train to St. Paul, Minnesota. In February he sees Theda Bara in \"Cleopatra,\" and in May watches the Human Fly climb the Commerce Building downtown. Hermann is laid off from work and takes up a new temporary job. He hears the Dempsy-Carpentier fight on the radio and unsuccessfully tries to sell his duplex. In the fall he attends the dedication of the St. Paul municipal pipe organ. His church activities include successfully organizing a men's club. Hermann is briefly hospitalized for chronic gastritis before landing a permanent job at Marvel Battery Company.","This folder contains one red pocket diary from 1922 and an address book from 1931.","In the 1922 diary, Hermann continues to show his dedication to Sunday school instruction by completing teacher training school. He listens to the radio and plays a lot of tennis. In September, his sister is hospitalized for nephritis and passes away; his family and friends come to St. Paul for the funeral. In November, Hermann notes his surprise that Senator Frank B. Kellog is defeated for re-election.","Contains addresses and birthdays for Hermann's friends and family."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eBefore reproducing or quoting from any materials, in whole or in part, permission must be obtained from the Special Collections Research Center, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Use:"],"userestrict_tesim":["Before reproducing or quoting from any materials, in whole or in part, permission must be obtained from the Special Collections Research Center, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library."],"corpname_ssim":["Special Collections Research Center"],"famname_ssim":["Hermann, Edgar Carl"],"names_ssim":["Special Collections Research Center","Hermann, Edgar Carl"],"language_ssim":["English"],"descrules_ssm":["Describing Archives: A Content Standard"],"total_component_count_is":10,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-06-23T07:42:54.762Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"viw_repositories_2_resources_2430","ead_ssi":"viw_repositories_2_resources_2430","_root_":"viw_repositories_2_resources_2430","_nest_parent_":"viw_repositories_2_resources_2430","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/WM/repositories_2_resources_2430.xml","title_ssm":["Edgar Carl Hermann Diaries"],"title_tesim":["Edgar Carl Hermann Diaries"],"unitdate_ssm":["1912-1922"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1912-1922"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1912/1922"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Edgar Carl Hermann Diaries, 1912/1922"],"text":["Edgar Carl Hermann Diaries, 1912/1922","SC 01301","/repositories/2/resources/2430","Soldiers--Recreation","St. Paul (Minn.)--Description and travel","Sunday schools","World War, 1914-1918","World War, 1914-1918--France","World War, 1914-1918--Military life--American","Diaries","Collection is open to all researchers. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, such as the Virginia Public Records Act (Code of Virginia. § 42.1-76-91); and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Code of Virginia § 2.2-3705.5). Confidential material may include, but is not limited to, educational, medical, and personnel records. If sensitive material is found in this collection, please contact a staff member immediately. The disclosure of personally identifiable information pertaining to a living individual may have legal consequences for which the College of William and Mary assumes no responsibility.","Edgar Carl Hermann was born September 18, 1888, in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Before 1910, he had moved to St. Paul, Minnesota, where he worked as a stenographer for a railroad company eventually becoming chief clerk of the saftey bureau. In 1917 he was drafted into the Army in which he served as a clerk in the vicinity of Coblenz, Germany. Upon returning to the United States in 1919, he lived in St. Paul at least through 1922. He moved to Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, some time before 1930 where he worked as a saleman. His spouse was Leila H. Hermann and their son was Edgar W. Hermann. His date of death is August 30, 1953.","This collection ID was formerly Mss. Acc. 2012.315.","Accessioned and minimally processed by Benjamin Bromley in August 2012. Detailed description authored by Matthew Thompson November 2014. Revised in March 2018 by Karen King.","Armed Conflicts and the Military in the Special Collections Research Center. \nInformation about related materials is available at http://guides.swem.wm.edu/armedconflicts","This collection contains the diaries, 1912-1922, of Edgar Carl Hermann of Sheboygan, Wisconsin. The first diary concerns Hermann's daily life as a worker for a railroad. There are two diaries from 1919, both of which describe Hermann's service during World War I. They include his service in France and Germany and his two week trip to Paris during his leave time. There are also diaries from 1920, 1921, and 1922.","Most of the entries describe Hermann's daily life in St. Paul, Minnesota. Church and recreational activities are the events most typically described. Often these include references to landmarks in and around Minneapolis and St. Paul. Some of the place names include the Hippodrome, Hollow Rink, Bridge Square Hotel, Merchant's Hotel, Grand Central Hotel, the De Luxe Theater, the New Aster Theater, Oakland Cemetery, and Forest Cemetery. He also visits many of the parks and natural features of the area especially Indian Mounds Park, Phalen Park, Como Park, and Lexington Park.","Church activities dominate Hermann's diary entries. Regular entries are made for prayer meetings, choir rehearsals and performances, preparing for holiday programs, and many different kinds of committee meetings. His main recurring responsibility is leading Sunday school and he makes frequent note of the study and preparation that goes into this including attending professional development conferences.","This folder contains three pocket diaries. The cover of the 1912 diary reads \"The North Western Line – Diary 1912 – Compliments of C.St.P.M. and O.Ry.\" There are two diaries from 1919; the larger black diary has the title \"Bagels Termin-Kalender\" and contains complete daily entries with the months January–June covering Hermann's service in Europe during World War I. The smaller black leather diary with the title \"Compliments Chicago-New York\" only contains entries about Hermann's trip to Paris in March 1919, supplementing his regular entries in his daily diary.","In the 1912 diary, Hermann enjoys a \"Hard Times\" party. A friend's wife dies of spinal meningitis. He hears both Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson deliver speeches. At a friend's house, Hermann listens to a Graphophone. In the summer, he attends Saengerfest and in the fall he goes to the ball park to watch the scoreboard returns come in from the World Series between the Giants and the Red Sox.","The 1919 diary begins with Hermannn in the vicinity of Coblenz, Germany, during World War I. In it, he describes his daily life, recreational activities, and work routine. The diary entries make special note of the many letters and cards he writes and receives, as well as his friendships with local families. Place names used in these entries include: Wallershein, St. Sabastian, Rhine River, Coblenz, Neunendorf, Ehrenbreitstein, Kaltenengers, Bubenheim, and Cologne.","Hermann's military service is as a clerk and his typical work activities include composing billeting lists, filling out qualification cards, creating roster lists, handling payroll and dispensation, and responding to professional criticism from his superiors. In addition to this he must also complete typical military exercises including short arms inspection, drills, louse inspection, records inspection, and as they ready to depart Europe packing the records ahead of departure and composing sailing lists.","Hermann makes special mention on the many recreational activities the men enjoy including listening to the regiment band, holiday parties, basketball, and baseball. He also reads the book, \"God's Country and the Woman.\" There are many YMCA sponsored activities such as lectures and variety shows including circus performers, minstrel shows, and vaudeville. The YMCA also provides movies and Hermann attends \"Manhattan Madness,\" \"Mutt and Jeff,\" \"Fatty Arbuckle,\" \"The Dawnmaker,\" and a feature starring Mary Pickford. During this time Hermann tries and fails to successfully organize a Bible study class with the YMCA chaplain.","The WWI entries conclude in June with the men traveling west by train eventually arriving in Saint-Nazaire where they will sail for the United States. Place names mentioned include: Joul, Dijon, Nevers, Savenay, Angers, Sable, Gastines, Nantes, and Saint-Nazaire. He notes he \"saw quite a few U.S. soldiers with French wives.\" Also there was a spinal meningitis outbreak resulting in quarantine just days before they sail. The voyage itself was on the USS Artemis and takes twelve days to reach Hampton Roads. Hermann notes cheering and family reunions at Old Point Comfort before he departs Camp Stuart by train traveling through Richmond, Charlottesville, across the Blue Ridge to West Virginia, Cincinnati, and finally arriving at Chicago where he reports to Camp Grant. While at Camp Grant he is held up for several days due to a tonsil infection and missing paper work before he can go home to St. Paul.","The remainder of the 1919 diary describes Hermann's readjustment to ordinary life in St. Paul including a few weeks' vacation after discharge. He regularly attends movies including \"The Outlaw,\" and two Mary Pickford features, \"Daddy Long Legs\" and \"The Hoodlum.\" He hears President Woodrow Wilson deliver a speech on the League of Nations and Versailles Treaty. He also maintains active correspondence with his friends in Germany. His church activities are dominated by construction work as his congregation prepares to move to a new building.","In March 1919, Hermann receives permission to take a furlough in Paris, which is described in his regular diary and also a supplemental diary. On March 16 he departs St. Sebastian by train for Paris with a layover in Joul, returning on March 21. While in Paris he takes the subway to Versailles and tours the palace and gardens. H he tours the Latin Quarter, the Museum of Luxemburg, the Pantheon, the University of Paris Law Library, the Tower of Clovis, tht Church of St. Genevieve, and Sarbourne Chapel. He goes on a cruise of the Seine River and sees Notre Dame, the Church of St. Gervais, the Tower of St. Germaine, the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty, and Mount Marc. While on a bus tour he sees the Hotel DeVille, the Church of Gervais, Notre Dame, the Palace of Justine, Sainte-Chapelle, the Louvre, the Arc de Carrousel, the Eiffel tower, the Chamber of Deputies, the Pantheon de la Guerre, the Statue of Washington, the Palais de Glass, the Grand Palais, the Place de la Concorde, the Palace Royal, and the Church of Madeleine. He also takes in a show at the Casino de Paris.","This folder contains two pocket diaries. The 1920 diary is brown and the 1921 diary is green and bears the title \"Standard Diary No.516.\"","In the 1920 diary, Hermann joins the Freemasons at Braden Lodge and quickly advances in rank there. There is the usual involvement in church activities; he volunteers to audit the church's finances in advance of their application for an equity mortgage, and becomes involved in the Forward Movement. In May there is a city election and he notes that all but one councilman were ousted. Hermann recounts having his wisdom teeth pulled. In September he attends the State Fair and participates in a veteran's reunion of \"Company F.\" He hears a speech from then Senator Warren G. Harding and in December he describes playing records on a phonograph.","In January 1921, Hermann departs on an extended vacation to visit a friend in California. He travels by train through South Dakota and North Dakota, heading west through Montana and across the Cascades. He arrives in Seattle, Washington, and travels by train to Portland, Oregon, then on to Sacramento, California, and finally Los Angeles, California. In Los Angeles he meets his friend and they rent a car and drive to San Diego, California, and on to Tiajuana, Mexico. While California, he visits Hollywood, Venice, and Ocean Beach. He departs Los Angeles by train to Kansas City, Missouri, passing through Winslow, Arizona, Clovis, New Mexico, and Amarillo, Texas. From Kansas City he returns by train to St. Paul, Minnesota. In February he sees Theda Bara in \"Cleopatra,\" and in May watches the Human Fly climb the Commerce Building downtown. Hermann is laid off from work and takes up a new temporary job. He hears the Dempsy-Carpentier fight on the radio and unsuccessfully tries to sell his duplex. In the fall he attends the dedication of the St. Paul municipal pipe organ. His church activities include successfully organizing a men's club. Hermann is briefly hospitalized for chronic gastritis before landing a permanent job at Marvel Battery Company.","This folder contains one red pocket diary from 1922 and an address book from 1931.","In the 1922 diary, Hermann continues to show his dedication to Sunday school instruction by completing teacher training school. He listens to the radio and plays a lot of tennis. In September, his sister is hospitalized for nephritis and passes away; his family and friends come to St. Paul for the funeral. In November, Hermann notes his surprise that Senator Frank B. Kellog is defeated for re-election.","Contains addresses and birthdays for Hermann's friends and family.","Before reproducing or quoting from any materials, in whole or in part, permission must be obtained from the Special Collections Research Center, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library.","Special Collections Research Center","Hermann, Edgar Carl","English"],"collection_title_tesim":["Edgar Carl Hermann Diaries, 1912/1922"],"collection_ssim":["Edgar Carl Hermann Diaries, 1912/1922"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["SC 01301","/repositories/2/resources/2430"],"unitid_tesim":["SC 01301","/repositories/2/resources/2430"],"repository_ssm":["College of William and Mary"],"repository_ssim":["College of William and Mary"],"creator_ssm":["Hermann, Edgar Carl"],"creator_ssim":["Hermann, Edgar Carl"],"creator_corpname_ssim":["Special Collections Research Center"],"creator_famname_ssim":["Hermann, Edgar Carl"],"creators_ssim":["Special Collections Research Center","Hermann, Edgar Carl"],"access_terms_ssm":["Before reproducing or quoting from any materials, in whole or in part, permission must be obtained from the Special Collections Research Center, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Soldiers--Recreation","St. Paul (Minn.)--Description and travel","Sunday schools","World War, 1914-1918","World War, 1914-1918--France","World War, 1914-1918--Military life--American","Diaries"],"access_subjects_ssm":["Soldiers--Recreation","St. Paul (Minn.)--Description and travel","Sunday schools","World War, 1914-1918","World War, 1914-1918--France","World War, 1914-1918--Military life--American","Diaries"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["0.25 Linear Feet"],"extent_tesim":["0.25 Linear Feet"],"genreform_ssim":["Diaries"],"date_range_isim":[1912,1913,1914,1915,1916,1917,1918,1919,1920,1921,1922],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eCollection is open to all researchers. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, such as the Virginia Public Records Act (Code of Virginia. § 42.1-76-91); and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Code of Virginia § 2.2-3705.5). Confidential material may include, but is not limited to, educational, medical, and personnel records. If sensitive material is found in this collection, please contact a staff member immediately. The disclosure of personally identifiable information pertaining to a living individual may have legal consequences for which the College of William and Mary assumes no responsibility.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Access:"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["Collection is open to all researchers. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, such as the Virginia Public Records Act (Code of Virginia. § 42.1-76-91); and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Code of Virginia § 2.2-3705.5). Confidential material may include, but is not limited to, educational, medical, and personnel records. If sensitive material is found in this collection, please contact a staff member immediately. The disclosure of personally identifiable information pertaining to a living individual may have legal consequences for which the College of William and Mary assumes no responsibility."],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eEdgar Carl Hermann was born September 18, 1888, in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Before 1910, he had moved to St. Paul, Minnesota, where he worked as a stenographer for a railroad company eventually becoming chief clerk of the saftey bureau. In 1917 he was drafted into the Army in which he served as a clerk in the vicinity of Coblenz, Germany. Upon returning to the United States in 1919, he lived in St. Paul at least through 1922. He moved to Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, some time before 1930 where he worked as a saleman. His spouse was Leila H. Hermann and their son was Edgar W. Hermann. His date of death is August 30, 1953.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Administrative History:"],"bioghist_tesim":["Edgar Carl Hermann was born September 18, 1888, in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Before 1910, he had moved to St. Paul, Minnesota, where he worked as a stenographer for a railroad company eventually becoming chief clerk of the saftey bureau. In 1917 he was drafted into the Army in which he served as a clerk in the vicinity of Coblenz, Germany. Upon returning to the United States in 1919, he lived in St. Paul at least through 1922. He moved to Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, some time before 1930 where he worked as a saleman. His spouse was Leila H. Hermann and their son was Edgar W. Hermann. His date of death is August 30, 1953."],"custodhist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThis collection ID was formerly Mss. Acc. 2012.315.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"custodhist_heading_ssm":["Custodial History"],"custodhist_tesim":["This collection ID was formerly Mss. Acc. 2012.315."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eAccessioned and minimally processed by Benjamin Bromley in August 2012. Detailed description authored by Matthew Thompson November 2014. Revised in March 2018 by Karen King.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information:"],"processinfo_tesim":["Accessioned and minimally processed by Benjamin Bromley in August 2012. Detailed description authored by Matthew Thompson November 2014. Revised in March 2018 by Karen King."],"relatedmaterial_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eArmed Conflicts and the Military in the Special Collections Research Center. \nInformation about related materials is available at http://guides.swem.wm.edu/armedconflicts\u003c/p\u003e  "],"relatedmaterial_heading_ssm":["Related Materials:"],"relatedmaterial_tesim":["Armed Conflicts and the Military in the Special Collections Research Center. \nInformation about related materials is available at http://guides.swem.wm.edu/armedconflicts"],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThis collection contains the diaries, 1912-1922, of Edgar Carl Hermann of Sheboygan, Wisconsin. The first diary concerns Hermann's daily life as a worker for a railroad. There are two diaries from 1919, both of which describe Hermann's service during World War I. They include his service in France and Germany and his two week trip to Paris during his leave time. There are also diaries from 1920, 1921, and 1922.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMost of the entries describe Hermann's daily life in St. Paul, Minnesota. Church and recreational activities are the events most typically described. Often these include references to landmarks in and around Minneapolis and St. Paul. Some of the place names include the Hippodrome, Hollow Rink, Bridge Square Hotel, Merchant's Hotel, Grand Central Hotel, the De Luxe Theater, the New Aster Theater, Oakland Cemetery, and Forest Cemetery. He also visits many of the parks and natural features of the area especially Indian Mounds Park, Phalen Park, Como Park, and Lexington Park.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eChurch activities dominate Hermann's diary entries. Regular entries are made for prayer meetings, choir rehearsals and performances, preparing for holiday programs, and many different kinds of committee meetings. His main recurring responsibility is leading Sunday school and he makes frequent note of the study and preparation that goes into this including attending professional development conferences.\u003c/p\u003e  ","\u003cp\u003eThis folder contains three pocket diaries. The cover of the 1912 diary reads \"The North Western Line – Diary 1912 – Compliments of C.St.P.M. and O.Ry.\" There are two diaries from 1919; the larger black diary has the title \"Bagels Termin-Kalender\" and contains complete daily entries with the months January–June covering Hermann's service in Europe during World War I. The smaller black leather diary with the title \"Compliments Chicago-New York\" only contains entries about Hermann's trip to Paris in March 1919, supplementing his regular entries in his daily diary.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIn the 1912 diary, Hermann enjoys a \"Hard Times\" party. A friend's wife dies of spinal meningitis. He hears both Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson deliver speeches. At a friend's house, Hermann listens to a Graphophone. In the summer, he attends Saengerfest and in the fall he goes to the ball park to watch the scoreboard returns come in from the World Series between the Giants and the Red Sox.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe 1919 diary begins with Hermannn in the vicinity of Coblenz, Germany, during World War I. In it, he describes his daily life, recreational activities, and work routine. The diary entries make special note of the many letters and cards he writes and receives, as well as his friendships with local families. Place names used in these entries include: Wallershein, St. Sabastian, Rhine River, Coblenz, Neunendorf, Ehrenbreitstein, Kaltenengers, Bubenheim, and Cologne.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eHermann's military service is as a clerk and his typical work activities include composing billeting lists, filling out qualification cards, creating roster lists, handling payroll and dispensation, and responding to professional criticism from his superiors. In addition to this he must also complete typical military exercises including short arms inspection, drills, louse inspection, records inspection, and as they ready to depart Europe packing the records ahead of departure and composing sailing lists. \u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eHermann makes special mention on the many recreational activities the men enjoy including listening to the regiment band, holiday parties, basketball, and baseball. He also reads the book, \"God's Country and the Woman.\" There are many YMCA sponsored activities such as lectures and variety shows including circus performers, minstrel shows, and vaudeville. The YMCA also provides movies and Hermann attends \"Manhattan Madness,\" \"Mutt and Jeff,\" \"Fatty Arbuckle,\" \"The Dawnmaker,\" and a feature starring Mary Pickford. During this time Hermann tries and fails to successfully organize a Bible study class with the YMCA chaplain. \u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe WWI entries conclude in June with the men traveling west by train eventually arriving in Saint-Nazaire where they will sail for the United States. Place names mentioned include: Joul, Dijon, Nevers, Savenay, Angers, Sable, Gastines, Nantes, and Saint-Nazaire. He notes he \"saw quite a few U.S. soldiers with French wives.\" Also there was a spinal meningitis outbreak resulting in quarantine just days before they sail. The voyage itself was on the USS Artemis and takes twelve days to reach Hampton Roads. Hermann notes cheering and family reunions at Old Point Comfort before he departs Camp Stuart by train traveling through Richmond, Charlottesville, across the Blue Ridge to West Virginia, Cincinnati, and finally arriving at Chicago where he reports to Camp Grant. While at Camp Grant he is held up for several days due to a tonsil infection and missing paper work before he can go home to St. Paul. \u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe remainder of the 1919 diary describes Hermann's readjustment to ordinary life in St. Paul including a few weeks' vacation after discharge. He regularly attends movies including \"The Outlaw,\" and two Mary Pickford features, \"Daddy Long Legs\" and \"The Hoodlum.\" He hears President Woodrow Wilson deliver a speech on the League of Nations and Versailles Treaty. He also maintains active correspondence with his friends in Germany. His church activities are dominated by construction work as his congregation prepares to move to a new building.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIn March 1919, Hermann receives permission to take a furlough in Paris, which is described in his regular diary and also a supplemental diary. On March 16 he departs St. Sebastian by train for Paris with a layover in Joul, returning on March 21. While in Paris he takes the subway to Versailles and tours the palace and gardens. H he tours the Latin Quarter, the Museum of Luxemburg, the Pantheon, the University of Paris Law Library, the Tower of Clovis, tht Church of St. Genevieve, and Sarbourne Chapel. He goes on a cruise of the Seine River and sees Notre Dame, the Church of St. Gervais, the Tower of St. Germaine, the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty, and Mount Marc. While on a bus tour he sees the Hotel DeVille, the Church of Gervais, Notre Dame, the Palace of Justine, Sainte-Chapelle, the Louvre, the Arc de Carrousel, the Eiffel tower, the Chamber of Deputies, the Pantheon de la Guerre, the Statue of Washington, the Palais de Glass, the Grand Palais, the Place de la Concorde, the Palace Royal, and the Church of Madeleine. He also takes in a show at the Casino de Paris.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis folder contains two pocket diaries. The 1920 diary is brown and the 1921 diary is green and bears the title \"Standard Diary No.516.\"\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIn the 1920 diary, Hermann joins the Freemasons at Braden Lodge and quickly advances in rank there. There is the usual involvement in church activities; he volunteers to audit the church's finances in advance of their application for an equity mortgage, and becomes involved in the Forward Movement. In May there is a city election and he notes that all but one councilman were ousted. Hermann recounts having his wisdom teeth pulled. In September he attends the State Fair and participates in a veteran's reunion of \"Company F.\" He hears a speech from then Senator Warren G. Harding and in December he describes playing records on a phonograph.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIn January 1921, Hermann departs on an extended vacation to visit a friend in California. He travels by train through South Dakota and North Dakota, heading west through Montana and across the Cascades. He arrives in Seattle, Washington, and travels by train to Portland, Oregon, then on to Sacramento, California, and finally Los Angeles, California. In Los Angeles he meets his friend and they rent a car and drive to San Diego, California, and on to Tiajuana, Mexico. While California, he visits Hollywood, Venice, and Ocean Beach. He departs Los Angeles by train to Kansas City, Missouri, passing through Winslow, Arizona, Clovis, New Mexico, and Amarillo, Texas. From Kansas City he returns by train to St. Paul, Minnesota. In February he sees Theda Bara in \"Cleopatra,\" and in May watches the Human Fly climb the Commerce Building downtown. Hermann is laid off from work and takes up a new temporary job. He hears the Dempsy-Carpentier fight on the radio and unsuccessfully tries to sell his duplex. In the fall he attends the dedication of the St. Paul municipal pipe organ. His church activities include successfully organizing a men's club. Hermann is briefly hospitalized for chronic gastritis before landing a permanent job at Marvel Battery Company.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis folder contains one red pocket diary from 1922 and an address book from 1931.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIn the 1922 diary, Hermann continues to show his dedication to Sunday school instruction by completing teacher training school. He listens to the radio and plays a lot of tennis. In September, his sister is hospitalized for nephritis and passes away; his family and friends come to St. Paul for the funeral. In November, Hermann notes his surprise that Senator Frank B. Kellog is defeated for re-election.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eContains addresses and birthdays for Hermann's friends and family.\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Contents","Scope and Contents","Scope and Contents","Scope and Contents","Scope and Contents","Scope and Contents","Scope and Contents","Scope and Contents","Scope and Contents","Scope and Contents","Scope and Contents"],"scopecontent_tesim":["This collection contains the diaries, 1912-1922, of Edgar Carl Hermann of Sheboygan, Wisconsin. The first diary concerns Hermann's daily life as a worker for a railroad. There are two diaries from 1919, both of which describe Hermann's service during World War I. They include his service in France and Germany and his two week trip to Paris during his leave time. There are also diaries from 1920, 1921, and 1922.","Most of the entries describe Hermann's daily life in St. Paul, Minnesota. Church and recreational activities are the events most typically described. Often these include references to landmarks in and around Minneapolis and St. Paul. Some of the place names include the Hippodrome, Hollow Rink, Bridge Square Hotel, Merchant's Hotel, Grand Central Hotel, the De Luxe Theater, the New Aster Theater, Oakland Cemetery, and Forest Cemetery. He also visits many of the parks and natural features of the area especially Indian Mounds Park, Phalen Park, Como Park, and Lexington Park.","Church activities dominate Hermann's diary entries. Regular entries are made for prayer meetings, choir rehearsals and performances, preparing for holiday programs, and many different kinds of committee meetings. His main recurring responsibility is leading Sunday school and he makes frequent note of the study and preparation that goes into this including attending professional development conferences.","This folder contains three pocket diaries. The cover of the 1912 diary reads \"The North Western Line – Diary 1912 – Compliments of C.St.P.M. and O.Ry.\" There are two diaries from 1919; the larger black diary has the title \"Bagels Termin-Kalender\" and contains complete daily entries with the months January–June covering Hermann's service in Europe during World War I. The smaller black leather diary with the title \"Compliments Chicago-New York\" only contains entries about Hermann's trip to Paris in March 1919, supplementing his regular entries in his daily diary.","In the 1912 diary, Hermann enjoys a \"Hard Times\" party. A friend's wife dies of spinal meningitis. He hears both Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson deliver speeches. At a friend's house, Hermann listens to a Graphophone. In the summer, he attends Saengerfest and in the fall he goes to the ball park to watch the scoreboard returns come in from the World Series between the Giants and the Red Sox.","The 1919 diary begins with Hermannn in the vicinity of Coblenz, Germany, during World War I. In it, he describes his daily life, recreational activities, and work routine. The diary entries make special note of the many letters and cards he writes and receives, as well as his friendships with local families. Place names used in these entries include: Wallershein, St. Sabastian, Rhine River, Coblenz, Neunendorf, Ehrenbreitstein, Kaltenengers, Bubenheim, and Cologne.","Hermann's military service is as a clerk and his typical work activities include composing billeting lists, filling out qualification cards, creating roster lists, handling payroll and dispensation, and responding to professional criticism from his superiors. In addition to this he must also complete typical military exercises including short arms inspection, drills, louse inspection, records inspection, and as they ready to depart Europe packing the records ahead of departure and composing sailing lists.","Hermann makes special mention on the many recreational activities the men enjoy including listening to the regiment band, holiday parties, basketball, and baseball. He also reads the book, \"God's Country and the Woman.\" There are many YMCA sponsored activities such as lectures and variety shows including circus performers, minstrel shows, and vaudeville. The YMCA also provides movies and Hermann attends \"Manhattan Madness,\" \"Mutt and Jeff,\" \"Fatty Arbuckle,\" \"The Dawnmaker,\" and a feature starring Mary Pickford. During this time Hermann tries and fails to successfully organize a Bible study class with the YMCA chaplain.","The WWI entries conclude in June with the men traveling west by train eventually arriving in Saint-Nazaire where they will sail for the United States. Place names mentioned include: Joul, Dijon, Nevers, Savenay, Angers, Sable, Gastines, Nantes, and Saint-Nazaire. He notes he \"saw quite a few U.S. soldiers with French wives.\" Also there was a spinal meningitis outbreak resulting in quarantine just days before they sail. The voyage itself was on the USS Artemis and takes twelve days to reach Hampton Roads. Hermann notes cheering and family reunions at Old Point Comfort before he departs Camp Stuart by train traveling through Richmond, Charlottesville, across the Blue Ridge to West Virginia, Cincinnati, and finally arriving at Chicago where he reports to Camp Grant. While at Camp Grant he is held up for several days due to a tonsil infection and missing paper work before he can go home to St. Paul.","The remainder of the 1919 diary describes Hermann's readjustment to ordinary life in St. Paul including a few weeks' vacation after discharge. He regularly attends movies including \"The Outlaw,\" and two Mary Pickford features, \"Daddy Long Legs\" and \"The Hoodlum.\" He hears President Woodrow Wilson deliver a speech on the League of Nations and Versailles Treaty. He also maintains active correspondence with his friends in Germany. His church activities are dominated by construction work as his congregation prepares to move to a new building.","In March 1919, Hermann receives permission to take a furlough in Paris, which is described in his regular diary and also a supplemental diary. On March 16 he departs St. Sebastian by train for Paris with a layover in Joul, returning on March 21. While in Paris he takes the subway to Versailles and tours the palace and gardens. H he tours the Latin Quarter, the Museum of Luxemburg, the Pantheon, the University of Paris Law Library, the Tower of Clovis, tht Church of St. Genevieve, and Sarbourne Chapel. He goes on a cruise of the Seine River and sees Notre Dame, the Church of St. Gervais, the Tower of St. Germaine, the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty, and Mount Marc. While on a bus tour he sees the Hotel DeVille, the Church of Gervais, Notre Dame, the Palace of Justine, Sainte-Chapelle, the Louvre, the Arc de Carrousel, the Eiffel tower, the Chamber of Deputies, the Pantheon de la Guerre, the Statue of Washington, the Palais de Glass, the Grand Palais, the Place de la Concorde, the Palace Royal, and the Church of Madeleine. He also takes in a show at the Casino de Paris.","This folder contains two pocket diaries. The 1920 diary is brown and the 1921 diary is green and bears the title \"Standard Diary No.516.\"","In the 1920 diary, Hermann joins the Freemasons at Braden Lodge and quickly advances in rank there. There is the usual involvement in church activities; he volunteers to audit the church's finances in advance of their application for an equity mortgage, and becomes involved in the Forward Movement. In May there is a city election and he notes that all but one councilman were ousted. Hermann recounts having his wisdom teeth pulled. In September he attends the State Fair and participates in a veteran's reunion of \"Company F.\" He hears a speech from then Senator Warren G. Harding and in December he describes playing records on a phonograph.","In January 1921, Hermann departs on an extended vacation to visit a friend in California. He travels by train through South Dakota and North Dakota, heading west through Montana and across the Cascades. He arrives in Seattle, Washington, and travels by train to Portland, Oregon, then on to Sacramento, California, and finally Los Angeles, California. In Los Angeles he meets his friend and they rent a car and drive to San Diego, California, and on to Tiajuana, Mexico. While California, he visits Hollywood, Venice, and Ocean Beach. He departs Los Angeles by train to Kansas City, Missouri, passing through Winslow, Arizona, Clovis, New Mexico, and Amarillo, Texas. From Kansas City he returns by train to St. Paul, Minnesota. In February he sees Theda Bara in \"Cleopatra,\" and in May watches the Human Fly climb the Commerce Building downtown. Hermann is laid off from work and takes up a new temporary job. He hears the Dempsy-Carpentier fight on the radio and unsuccessfully tries to sell his duplex. In the fall he attends the dedication of the St. Paul municipal pipe organ. His church activities include successfully organizing a men's club. Hermann is briefly hospitalized for chronic gastritis before landing a permanent job at Marvel Battery Company.","This folder contains one red pocket diary from 1922 and an address book from 1931.","In the 1922 diary, Hermann continues to show his dedication to Sunday school instruction by completing teacher training school. He listens to the radio and plays a lot of tennis. In September, his sister is hospitalized for nephritis and passes away; his family and friends come to St. Paul for the funeral. In November, Hermann notes his surprise that Senator Frank B. Kellog is defeated for re-election.","Contains addresses and birthdays for Hermann's friends and family."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eBefore reproducing or quoting from any materials, in whole or in part, permission must be obtained from the Special Collections Research Center, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Use:"],"userestrict_tesim":["Before reproducing or quoting from any materials, in whole or in part, permission must be obtained from the Special Collections Research Center, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library."],"corpname_ssim":["Special Collections Research Center"],"famname_ssim":["Hermann, Edgar Carl"],"names_ssim":["Special Collections Research Center","Hermann, Edgar Carl"],"language_ssim":["English"],"descrules_ssm":["Describing Archives: A Content Standard"],"total_component_count_is":10,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-06-23T07:42:54.762Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/viw_repositories_2_resources_2430"}},{"id":"viw_repositories_2_resources_1730","type":"collection","attributes":{"title":"Gertha Sykes Collins Papers, 1942/1951","creator":{"id":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/viw_repositories_2_resources_1730#creator","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":"Dansby, James","label":"Creator"}},"abstract_or_scope":{"id":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/viw_repositories_2_resources_1730#abstract_or_scope","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":"\u003cp\u003ePrimarily this is a collection of love letters written between 1942-1944 to Gertha Barbara Jean Sykes residing in St. Louis, Missouri and James NMI Dansby, an African-American soldier in the United States Army. There are also letters from two other Army soldiers, Jack Smith, stationed in the Pacific and Benjamin D. Collins, an aircompany soldier, whom Sykes married in 1949.\u003c/p\u003e","label":"Abstract Or Scope"}},"breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/viw_repositories_2_resources_1730#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"id":"viw_repositories_2_resources_1730","ead_ssi":"viw_repositories_2_resources_1730","_root_":"viw_repositories_2_resources_1730","_nest_parent_":"viw_repositories_2_resources_1730","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/WM/repositories_2_resources_1730.xml","title_filing_ssi":"Collins, Gertha Sykes, Papers","title_ssm":["Gertha Sykes Collins Papers"],"title_tesim":["Gertha Sykes Collins Papers"],"unitdate_ssm":["1942-1951"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1942-1951"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1942/1951"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Gertha Sykes Collins Papers, 1942/1951"],"text":["Gertha Sykes Collins Papers, 1942/1951","Mss. Acc. 2011.487","/repositories/2/resources/1730","Camp Shelby (Miss.)","Fort Mason (Calif.)--History","Love-letters","African Americans--History--20th century","Censorship--United States--History--20th century","Courtship--1940-1950","Courtship--United States--History--20th century","Segregation--United States--1940-1950","Soldiers--1940-1950","Soldiers--American--1940-1950","Soldiers--Recreation","Soldiers--Training of--United States--History--20th century","Soldiers--United States--Correspondence","Soldiers--United States--Social life and customs--20th century","World War, 1939-1945--Pacific Area","World War, 1939-1945--United States","Letters (correspondence)","Collection is open to all researchers. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, such as the Virginia Public Records Act (Code of Virginia. § 42.1-76-91); and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Code of Virginia § 2.2-3705.5). Confidential material may include, but is not limited to, educational, medical, and personnel records. If sensitive material is found in this collection, please contact a staff member immediately. The disclosure of personally identifiable information pertaining to a living individual may have legal consequences for which the College of William and Mary assumes no responsibility.","Arranged chronologically.","Accessioned and minimally processed by Benjamin Bromley in July 2011. Further processed and described by Ania Leska in 2012/2013.","A Guide to World War II Resources in the Special Collections Research Center","Information about related materials is available at http://guides.swem.wm.edu/WorldWarII","Primarily this is a collection of love letters written between 1942-1944 to Gertha Barbara Jean Sykes residing in St. Louis, Missouri and James NMI Dansby, an African-American soldier in the United States Army. There are also letters from two other Army soldiers, Jack Smith, stationed in the Pacific and Benjamin D. Collins, an aircompany soldier, whom Sykes married in 1949.","The letters begin when Dansby joined the Army and started basic training in Camp Shelby, Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Initially he was a member of Company C, 262nd Quartermaster Battalion (Service), one of the many all-black units activated during the Second World War. In April of 1944, he became a member of 4060th Quartermaster Battalion. Towards the end of 1944, he was stationed to the South West Pacific Theatre and most likely spent the war in the Philippines. He was there until after World War II in Asia had ended and then spent approximately three and a half months in Japan. After his arrival to the United States in January 1946, Dansby travelled to St. Louis and then moved to Detroit, Michigan. He never met Sykes again after he had left St. Louis for basic training and their relationship ended in January of 1947.","There are no letters written during Dansby's time in the Philippines and those mailed from Japan do not contain information about the war. Nevertheless, the collection provides a good insight into a soldier's life, contains numerous examples of military censorship of correspondence, and some reactions to the Jim Crow laws in place at the time.","In addition to letters to Sykes and few letters addressed to Collins, the collection contains a certificate of marriage between Sykes and Collins, postcards issued by the War Department notifying Sykes of Dansby's assignments to new installations, and stamped envelopes accompanying almost every letter.","Scope and Contents This folder contains numerous love letters from Pvt. Dansby to Gertha Sykes, written from basic training in Camp Shelby, Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Dansby was assigned to one of the many all-black units activated during WWII, Company C, 262nd Quartermaster Battalion (Service) established in March 1942. The letters begin when Dansby joined the Army in October 1942 and indicate that Dansby and Sykes's romantic relationship predated Dansby's joining the Army to when both of them lived in St. Louis, Missouri. The letters contain much description of everyday Army life during basic training (pay, entertainment, training routines, etc.), including Dansby's expressions of dissatisfaction with it. They do not contain many political and social reactions. There are few comments regarding segregation in general, or more specifically, in the military, and they tend to be very matter-of-fact. One of them was on the poor organization of African-American soldiers in the camp, whom Dansby viewed as \"neglected to a certain extent\" (6 November 1942).","Scope and Contents Just like folder 1, this folder also contains love letters from Dansby to Sykes. Dansby was still undergoing basic training in Camp Shelby, Mississippi and continued complaining about it, viewing it as too extensive and strenuous. Within a month's time, he advanced from the rank of Pvt. to Pfc., and later Cpl. and his unit moved out on maneuvers and on 1 April 1943 to the port of embarkation. Just like the letters from 1942, these also contain much description of everyday Army life during basic training: pay, rank advancement, entertainment, diet, training routines, furloughs, etc. They do not contain many political and social reactions, especially towards segregation. One comment specifically mentioning Jim Crow is in a letter written on 22 February 1943, at the bottom of page three. Dansby described Judy Canova's USO show, \"Hit the Deck\", and how touched he was by Canova's treatment of black soldiers. \"Judy Canova was fine, she talked with us, rather, to us and honey it made us feel so good to have a white person talk to us the way she did, after experincing [sic] the Jim Crow that persist down here, I've really taken some insults too.\"","This folder contains love letters written to Sykes by Dansby, now a Private again, from new Army installations. It also contains two cards issued by the War Department notifying Sykes of Dansby's arrivals at the new destinations. Letters written between April and the end of May seem to have been sent from Camp Stoneman in Pittsburg, California and the San Francisco Port of Embarkation, California. On the other hand, letters written thereafter seem to have been sent from a classified location in the South Pacific since a September letter from the next folder reveals that and since the second War Department card was mailed on 29 May and the new APO number listed on it was the same number as the one listed on the envelope accompanying Dansby's letter dated 7 June. Unlike envelopes in folders #1 and #2, all envelopes in folder #3 show evidence of cencorship. They are stamped as Passed by Army Examiner. Dansby wrote about censorship quite often and complained to Sykes that it made it difficult for him to be as personable as he had been prior to its institution. On 14 April, he mentioned that his first letter from Camp Stoneman did not pass cencorship and was returned to him, and on 7 and 14 June, he mentioned the same regarding his first letters from the port of embarkation. While the letters in this folder mention Dansby's letters being rejected by the censors, they do not mention any letters from Sykes to Dansby as being rejected. Many letters also shed light on the way censorship was conducted. For example, in letters dated 14 and 20 April, respectively, Dansby mentioned that he was forbidden to send personal correspondence while being moved from Missouri to California and that he was not allowed to scratch words out. Further, in a letter dated 12 August, he explained to Sykes that the small cut out in his letter from 14 June was due to his having used two question marks, while censorship only allowed one. One can find more examples of such cut-outs in the letter of 14 July. Despite censorship, Dansby continued writing about his everyday life. He was satisfied with Camp Stoneman, as well as the California climate and landscape, all of which he much preferred to Camp Shelby and Mississippi. However, after moving to the South Pacific location, his morale sank more and more until he hit his low point on Christmas Day, 1943. Sykes, on the other hand, moved to another address in St. Louis and was in the process of a divorce and a lawsuit (both had not been mentioned before), which she ultimately lost. It appears she had a son nicknamed \"Snookie.\"","Scope and Contents Just like letters in folders #2 and 3, these letters are an extension of those in the previous folder. Dansby continues to write love letters to Sykes from the South Pacific island. During the time span of the letters, Sykes moved within St. Louis, for the second time since October 1942, changed her job, from which she was laid off soon thereafter (letter of 30 October), and had her divorce finalized (letter of 21 November). Dansby, on the other hand, became progressively more depressed and homesick. In comparison to the ports of embarkation in California, the conditions on the classified island were austere and, as it has been the case since Dansby joined the Army, he wished the war were over and he could see Sykes and St. Louis. His morale hit rock bottom at the end of December when he wrote, \"I am putting up a fight against the shattering of my morale and darling [sic] I am telling you [sic] it's not easy at all. Whatever happens though [sic] you can bet I'll be here thinking of you and fighting to my last breath\" (25 December 1943). While Dansby did not get shipped off to the Pacific front between September and December, his letters suggest that others from his basic training cohort were starting to get shipped off to both, the European and the Pacific, fronts. For example, in his letter from 1 December 1943, he wrote that his fellow soldier and friend, Nelson, had been sent to England. The letters contain much evidence of censorship in the form of cutouts. The most interesting are from 9 and 14 September and 21 November. For example, the 9 September letter has cutouts with cut out penciled in above them.","Scope and Contents The initial letters from 1944 were written from the same classified location in the South Pacific as the letters in the previous folder. Starting in late January, however, they were written from a new location. Dansby wrote, \"I feel better too, now that we're all back together again\" (27 January 1944) and mentioned he had been very busy since moving (29 February 1944). In addition to having been relocated, Dansby's military unit changed in April, from Co. C 262nd to 4060th. Then, in June, Dansby was awarded a \"good conduct\" medal and his letter from 26 July seems to suggest that there was a write-up about it in The Argus sometime before 15 July. The Argus (http://www.stlargus.com/) is the oldest continuous black business in the state of Missouri and one of the oldest black newspapers in America. While Dansby's letters had always been regular, period between 8 August and 12 October represents an unusually long gap. This gap was not elaborated on in the last letter of this folder from 12 October, but one learns from it that Sykes moved to Los Angeles, California; that Dansby was moved to yet another, new location; and that he was promoted to Private First Class. After 12 October, there is yet another gap in correspondence (see folder 6). In addition to letters from Dansby, the folder contains the first letter of this collection written to Sykes from a different correspondent. The correspondent's name is Jack Smith, who, like Dansby, was also a soldier in the US Army stationed in the Pacific. Smith was in an antiaircraft artillery gun battalion, Battery B 77th AAA Gun Bn (Sm). His letter is dated 30 May 1944.","This folder contains the largest variety of letters of this collection. Some letters are to Sykes and some are to Collins. There are love letters from Dansby to Sykes and from Collins to Sykes, letters from Smith and various friends from Los Angeles and San Francisco to Sykes, as well as letters from Collins's mother and aunt to Collins. The latter, although addressed to Collins only, were actually written to Collins and Sykes as a married couple. In addition to letters, the folder contains Sykes's and Collins's marriage certificate. The first letter of this folder was written by Dansby on 8 November 1945, a little over a year after the last letter of the previous folder, also by Dansby. Dansby explained the last couple of months of this gap in correspondence by his leaving Sykes's address in Manila when he was moved to Japan. He also wrote that he had not been receiving any letters during those couple of months. By the time this letter was written, the war in Asia had ended on 15 August 1945. Dansby's letters reveal he was stationed in Manila, Philippines until September 17, then in Japan, and that he was expecting to go home before Christmas. Regrettably, neither this nor the previous folders from which we find out that Dansby was stationed on the Pacific front, contain any letters describing Dansby's service in the Philippines or Japan. The second letter of this folder was also from Dansby. Dansby wrote it two months later from the Service Men's Telephone Center in Camp Anza, California, after he had failed to reach Sykes via telephone. He informed Sykes that he had left Japan the day after Christmas and that his course was set for Seattle, but was changed to Hawaii due to weather conditions. Dansby docked in San Pedro on 9 January, arrived at the Camp on 10 January, and left for St. Louis, Missouri on 11 January. The third letter was written three months later, on 10 April 1946, from Detroit, Michigan, also by Dansby. One learns from it that he was in St. Louis until 7 April and left for Michigan instead of Los Angeles, where he could have met Sykes. He wrote to Sykes, \"I am wondering if I have been wrong in my decision to come here. I counteract this thought with your decision in going to L.A. If you had cared enough that wouldn't have happened. Someday you and I shall be so sorry for mistakes that will have gone too far to be corrected.\" The above letter is followed by a group of Dansby's letters written between August 1946 and January 1947. During that time Dansby was still living and working in Detroit. In the second part of September, he wanted to travel to Los Angeles to meet with Sykes, but since he did not receive a response from her soon enough, he did not go. In October Dansby lost his job, which put him in a very difficult financial situation. Finally, in January the relationship between Sykes and Dansby seems to have formally ended. In the letter dated 13 January 1947, Dansby wrote, \"Since you have made yourself so explicit. [sic] I guess I may feel relieved of any bond and focus interest in Detroit (...) I am really glad we have this understanding [sic] I can breathe easier. Hope that we may remain friends. (it's more human) [sic].\" This is the last letter of this collection from Dansby. The next letter of this collection was written over two years after Dansby's last letter to Sykes. The letter is from Collins, an Aircompany Veteran (R.V.T.). It is dated 22 May 1949 and was mailed from Fort Lawton, a United States Army post located in Seattle, Washington. The letter is the first of this collection from Collins to Sykes and it is a love note. The next item of the folder is Sykes and Collins's certificate of marriage officiated by a U.S. Army Chaplain, Ernest W. Armstrong Sr. in Ft. Lawton, Washington on 26 June 1949. The marriage seems to have been Collin's and Sykes's second. The way the letters are adressed also points to Sykes having moved from Los Angeles to Seattle, probably in June, before the marriage took place on 26 June. However, sometime between December 1949 and March 1951, Sykes moved back to Los Angeles, California. The following letters are to Sykes from her church friend and another friend from Los Angeles. In the latter, one can learn a little about operations jobs in Hollywood as Collins was looking for a steady job there. There are also letters addressed to Collins from his mother and a letter written to Collins from his aunt, also from Los Angeles. She wrote that on 17 July 1949, Collins's father, other relatives, and she, together with 35,000 others, went to hear Dr. Ralph Bunche speak at the Hollywood Bowl. Bunche was an American political scientist, academic, diplomat, a civil rights movement activist, and the first African American and a person of color to be awarded the Nobel Prize (1950). This collection is closed off by two letters from Collins to Sykes. At tha time, Collins and Sykes were seperated as Collins was stationed in San Francisco and Sykes lived in Los Angeles. The letters were written in March and August of 1951. They indicate that Collins was promoted from the rank of Private he held as of his marriage to Sykes to the rank of Corporal. They show that Collins was very much in love with his wife and give an impression of a happy marriage.","Before reproducing or quoting from any materials, in whole or in part, permission must be obtained from the Special Collections Research Center, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library.","Special Collections Research Center","United Service Organizations (U.S.)","Dansby, James","Collins, Benjamin D.","Collins, Gertha Sykes","English"],"collection_title_tesim":["Gertha Sykes Collins Papers, 1942/1951"],"collection_ssim":["Gertha Sykes Collins Papers, 1942/1951"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["Mss. Acc. 2011.487","/repositories/2/resources/1730"],"unitid_tesim":["Mss. Acc. 2011.487","/repositories/2/resources/1730"],"repository_ssm":["College of William and Mary"],"repository_ssim":["College of William and Mary"],"geogname_ssm":["Camp Shelby (Miss.)","Fort Mason (Calif.)--History"],"geogname_ssim":["Camp Shelby (Miss.)","Fort Mason (Calif.)--History"],"places_ssim":["Camp Shelby (Miss.)","Fort Mason (Calif.)--History"],"creator_ssm":["Dansby, James","Collins, Benjamin D.","Collins, Gertha Sykes"],"creator_ssim":["Dansby, James","Collins, Benjamin D.","Collins, Gertha Sykes"],"creator_persname_ssim":["Dansby, James","Collins, Benjamin D.","Collins, Gertha Sykes"],"creator_corpname_ssim":["Special Collections Research Center","United Service Organizations (U.S.)"],"creators_ssim":["Dansby, James","Collins, Benjamin D.","Collins, Gertha Sykes","Special Collections Research Center","United Service Organizations (U.S.)"],"access_terms_ssm":["Before reproducing or quoting from any materials, in whole or in part, permission must be obtained from the Special Collections Research Center, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Love-letters","African Americans--History--20th century","Censorship--United States--History--20th century","Courtship--1940-1950","Courtship--United States--History--20th century","Segregation--United States--1940-1950","Soldiers--1940-1950","Soldiers--American--1940-1950","Soldiers--Recreation","Soldiers--Training of--United States--History--20th century","Soldiers--United States--Correspondence","Soldiers--United States--Social life and customs--20th century","World War, 1939-1945--Pacific Area","World War, 1939-1945--United States","Letters (correspondence)"],"access_subjects_ssm":["Love-letters","African Americans--History--20th century","Censorship--United States--History--20th century","Courtship--1940-1950","Courtship--United States--History--20th century","Segregation--United States--1940-1950","Soldiers--1940-1950","Soldiers--American--1940-1950","Soldiers--Recreation","Soldiers--Training of--United States--History--20th century","Soldiers--United States--Correspondence","Soldiers--United States--Social life and customs--20th century","World War, 1939-1945--Pacific Area","World War, 1939-1945--United States","Letters (correspondence)"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["0.40 Linear Feet 1 Full Hollinger box."],"extent_tesim":["0.40 Linear Feet 1 Full Hollinger box."],"genreform_ssim":["Letters (correspondence)"],"date_range_isim":[1942,1943,1944,1945,1946,1947,1948,1949,1950,1951],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eCollection is open to all researchers. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, such as the Virginia Public Records Act (Code of Virginia. § 42.1-76-91); and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Code of Virginia § 2.2-3705.5). Confidential material may include, but is not limited to, educational, medical, and personnel records. If sensitive material is found in this collection, please contact a staff member immediately. The disclosure of personally identifiable information pertaining to a living individual may have legal consequences for which the College of William and Mary assumes no responsibility.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Access:"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["Collection is open to all researchers. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, such as the Virginia Public Records Act (Code of Virginia. § 42.1-76-91); and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Code of Virginia § 2.2-3705.5). Confidential material may include, but is not limited to, educational, medical, and personnel records. If sensitive material is found in this collection, please contact a staff member immediately. The disclosure of personally identifiable information pertaining to a living individual may have legal consequences for which the College of William and Mary assumes no responsibility."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eArranged chronologically.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement of Materials:"],"arrangement_tesim":["Arranged chronologically."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eGertha Sykes Collins Papers, Special Collections Resarch Center, Swem Library, College of William and Mary.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"prefercite_tesim":["Gertha Sykes Collins Papers, Special Collections Resarch Center, Swem Library, College of William and Mary."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eAccessioned and minimally processed by Benjamin Bromley in July 2011. Further processed and described by Ania Leska in 2012/2013.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information:"],"processinfo_tesim":["Accessioned and minimally processed by Benjamin Bromley in July 2011. Further processed and described by Ania Leska in 2012/2013."],"relatedmaterial_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eA Guide to World War II Resources in the Special Collections Research Center\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e Information about related materials is available at http://guides.swem.wm.edu/WorldWarII\u003c/p\u003e  "],"relatedmaterial_heading_ssm":["Related Materials:"],"relatedmaterial_tesim":["A Guide to World War II Resources in the Special Collections Research Center","Information about related materials is available at http://guides.swem.wm.edu/WorldWarII"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Contents","Scope and Contents","Scope and Contents","Scope and Contents","Scope and Contents","Scope and Contents","Scope and Contents"],"scopecontent_tesim":["Primarily this is a collection of love letters written between 1942-1944 to Gertha Barbara Jean Sykes residing in St. Louis, Missouri and James NMI Dansby, an African-American soldier in the United States Army. There are also letters from two other Army soldiers, Jack Smith, stationed in the Pacific and Benjamin D. Collins, an aircompany soldier, whom Sykes married in 1949.","The letters begin when Dansby joined the Army and started basic training in Camp Shelby, Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Initially he was a member of Company C, 262nd Quartermaster Battalion (Service), one of the many all-black units activated during the Second World War. In April of 1944, he became a member of 4060th Quartermaster Battalion. Towards the end of 1944, he was stationed to the South West Pacific Theatre and most likely spent the war in the Philippines. He was there until after World War II in Asia had ended and then spent approximately three and a half months in Japan. After his arrival to the United States in January 1946, Dansby travelled to St. Louis and then moved to Detroit, Michigan. He never met Sykes again after he had left St. Louis for basic training and their relationship ended in January of 1947.","There are no letters written during Dansby's time in the Philippines and those mailed from Japan do not contain information about the war. Nevertheless, the collection provides a good insight into a soldier's life, contains numerous examples of military censorship of correspondence, and some reactions to the Jim Crow laws in place at the time.","In addition to letters to Sykes and few letters addressed to Collins, the collection contains a certificate of marriage between Sykes and Collins, postcards issued by the War Department notifying Sykes of Dansby's assignments to new installations, and stamped envelopes accompanying almost every letter.","Scope and Contents This folder contains numerous love letters from Pvt. Dansby to Gertha Sykes, written from basic training in Camp Shelby, Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Dansby was assigned to one of the many all-black units activated during WWII, Company C, 262nd Quartermaster Battalion (Service) established in March 1942. The letters begin when Dansby joined the Army in October 1942 and indicate that Dansby and Sykes's romantic relationship predated Dansby's joining the Army to when both of them lived in St. Louis, Missouri. The letters contain much description of everyday Army life during basic training (pay, entertainment, training routines, etc.), including Dansby's expressions of dissatisfaction with it. They do not contain many political and social reactions. There are few comments regarding segregation in general, or more specifically, in the military, and they tend to be very matter-of-fact. One of them was on the poor organization of African-American soldiers in the camp, whom Dansby viewed as \"neglected to a certain extent\" (6 November 1942).","Scope and Contents Just like folder 1, this folder also contains love letters from Dansby to Sykes. Dansby was still undergoing basic training in Camp Shelby, Mississippi and continued complaining about it, viewing it as too extensive and strenuous. Within a month's time, he advanced from the rank of Pvt. to Pfc., and later Cpl. and his unit moved out on maneuvers and on 1 April 1943 to the port of embarkation. Just like the letters from 1942, these also contain much description of everyday Army life during basic training: pay, rank advancement, entertainment, diet, training routines, furloughs, etc. They do not contain many political and social reactions, especially towards segregation. One comment specifically mentioning Jim Crow is in a letter written on 22 February 1943, at the bottom of page three. Dansby described Judy Canova's USO show, \"Hit the Deck\", and how touched he was by Canova's treatment of black soldiers. \"Judy Canova was fine, she talked with us, rather, to us and honey it made us feel so good to have a white person talk to us the way she did, after experincing [sic] the Jim Crow that persist down here, I've really taken some insults too.\"","This folder contains love letters written to Sykes by Dansby, now a Private again, from new Army installations. It also contains two cards issued by the War Department notifying Sykes of Dansby's arrivals at the new destinations. Letters written between April and the end of May seem to have been sent from Camp Stoneman in Pittsburg, California and the San Francisco Port of Embarkation, California. On the other hand, letters written thereafter seem to have been sent from a classified location in the South Pacific since a September letter from the next folder reveals that and since the second War Department card was mailed on 29 May and the new APO number listed on it was the same number as the one listed on the envelope accompanying Dansby's letter dated 7 June. Unlike envelopes in folders #1 and #2, all envelopes in folder #3 show evidence of cencorship. They are stamped as Passed by Army Examiner. Dansby wrote about censorship quite often and complained to Sykes that it made it difficult for him to be as personable as he had been prior to its institution. On 14 April, he mentioned that his first letter from Camp Stoneman did not pass cencorship and was returned to him, and on 7 and 14 June, he mentioned the same regarding his first letters from the port of embarkation. While the letters in this folder mention Dansby's letters being rejected by the censors, they do not mention any letters from Sykes to Dansby as being rejected. Many letters also shed light on the way censorship was conducted. For example, in letters dated 14 and 20 April, respectively, Dansby mentioned that he was forbidden to send personal correspondence while being moved from Missouri to California and that he was not allowed to scratch words out. Further, in a letter dated 12 August, he explained to Sykes that the small cut out in his letter from 14 June was due to his having used two question marks, while censorship only allowed one. One can find more examples of such cut-outs in the letter of 14 July. Despite censorship, Dansby continued writing about his everyday life. He was satisfied with Camp Stoneman, as well as the California climate and landscape, all of which he much preferred to Camp Shelby and Mississippi. However, after moving to the South Pacific location, his morale sank more and more until he hit his low point on Christmas Day, 1943. Sykes, on the other hand, moved to another address in St. Louis and was in the process of a divorce and a lawsuit (both had not been mentioned before), which she ultimately lost. It appears she had a son nicknamed \"Snookie.\"","Scope and Contents Just like letters in folders #2 and 3, these letters are an extension of those in the previous folder. Dansby continues to write love letters to Sykes from the South Pacific island. During the time span of the letters, Sykes moved within St. Louis, for the second time since October 1942, changed her job, from which she was laid off soon thereafter (letter of 30 October), and had her divorce finalized (letter of 21 November). Dansby, on the other hand, became progressively more depressed and homesick. In comparison to the ports of embarkation in California, the conditions on the classified island were austere and, as it has been the case since Dansby joined the Army, he wished the war were over and he could see Sykes and St. Louis. His morale hit rock bottom at the end of December when he wrote, \"I am putting up a fight against the shattering of my morale and darling [sic] I am telling you [sic] it's not easy at all. Whatever happens though [sic] you can bet I'll be here thinking of you and fighting to my last breath\" (25 December 1943). While Dansby did not get shipped off to the Pacific front between September and December, his letters suggest that others from his basic training cohort were starting to get shipped off to both, the European and the Pacific, fronts. For example, in his letter from 1 December 1943, he wrote that his fellow soldier and friend, Nelson, had been sent to England. The letters contain much evidence of censorship in the form of cutouts. The most interesting are from 9 and 14 September and 21 November. For example, the 9 September letter has cutouts with cut out penciled in above them.","Scope and Contents The initial letters from 1944 were written from the same classified location in the South Pacific as the letters in the previous folder. Starting in late January, however, they were written from a new location. Dansby wrote, \"I feel better too, now that we're all back together again\" (27 January 1944) and mentioned he had been very busy since moving (29 February 1944). In addition to having been relocated, Dansby's military unit changed in April, from Co. C 262nd to 4060th. Then, in June, Dansby was awarded a \"good conduct\" medal and his letter from 26 July seems to suggest that there was a write-up about it in The Argus sometime before 15 July. The Argus (http://www.stlargus.com/) is the oldest continuous black business in the state of Missouri and one of the oldest black newspapers in America. While Dansby's letters had always been regular, period between 8 August and 12 October represents an unusually long gap. This gap was not elaborated on in the last letter of this folder from 12 October, but one learns from it that Sykes moved to Los Angeles, California; that Dansby was moved to yet another, new location; and that he was promoted to Private First Class. After 12 October, there is yet another gap in correspondence (see folder 6). In addition to letters from Dansby, the folder contains the first letter of this collection written to Sykes from a different correspondent. The correspondent's name is Jack Smith, who, like Dansby, was also a soldier in the US Army stationed in the Pacific. Smith was in an antiaircraft artillery gun battalion, Battery B 77th AAA Gun Bn (Sm). His letter is dated 30 May 1944.","This folder contains the largest variety of letters of this collection. Some letters are to Sykes and some are to Collins. There are love letters from Dansby to Sykes and from Collins to Sykes, letters from Smith and various friends from Los Angeles and San Francisco to Sykes, as well as letters from Collins's mother and aunt to Collins. The latter, although addressed to Collins only, were actually written to Collins and Sykes as a married couple. In addition to letters, the folder contains Sykes's and Collins's marriage certificate. The first letter of this folder was written by Dansby on 8 November 1945, a little over a year after the last letter of the previous folder, also by Dansby. Dansby explained the last couple of months of this gap in correspondence by his leaving Sykes's address in Manila when he was moved to Japan. He also wrote that he had not been receiving any letters during those couple of months. By the time this letter was written, the war in Asia had ended on 15 August 1945. Dansby's letters reveal he was stationed in Manila, Philippines until September 17, then in Japan, and that he was expecting to go home before Christmas. Regrettably, neither this nor the previous folders from which we find out that Dansby was stationed on the Pacific front, contain any letters describing Dansby's service in the Philippines or Japan. The second letter of this folder was also from Dansby. Dansby wrote it two months later from the Service Men's Telephone Center in Camp Anza, California, after he had failed to reach Sykes via telephone. He informed Sykes that he had left Japan the day after Christmas and that his course was set for Seattle, but was changed to Hawaii due to weather conditions. Dansby docked in San Pedro on 9 January, arrived at the Camp on 10 January, and left for St. Louis, Missouri on 11 January. The third letter was written three months later, on 10 April 1946, from Detroit, Michigan, also by Dansby. One learns from it that he was in St. Louis until 7 April and left for Michigan instead of Los Angeles, where he could have met Sykes. He wrote to Sykes, \"I am wondering if I have been wrong in my decision to come here. I counteract this thought with your decision in going to L.A. If you had cared enough that wouldn't have happened. Someday you and I shall be so sorry for mistakes that will have gone too far to be corrected.\" The above letter is followed by a group of Dansby's letters written between August 1946 and January 1947. During that time Dansby was still living and working in Detroit. In the second part of September, he wanted to travel to Los Angeles to meet with Sykes, but since he did not receive a response from her soon enough, he did not go. In October Dansby lost his job, which put him in a very difficult financial situation. Finally, in January the relationship between Sykes and Dansby seems to have formally ended. In the letter dated 13 January 1947, Dansby wrote, \"Since you have made yourself so explicit. [sic] I guess I may feel relieved of any bond and focus interest in Detroit (...) I am really glad we have this understanding [sic] I can breathe easier. Hope that we may remain friends. (it's more human) [sic].\" This is the last letter of this collection from Dansby. The next letter of this collection was written over two years after Dansby's last letter to Sykes. The letter is from Collins, an Aircompany Veteran (R.V.T.). It is dated 22 May 1949 and was mailed from Fort Lawton, a United States Army post located in Seattle, Washington. The letter is the first of this collection from Collins to Sykes and it is a love note. The next item of the folder is Sykes and Collins's certificate of marriage officiated by a U.S. Army Chaplain, Ernest W. Armstrong Sr. in Ft. Lawton, Washington on 26 June 1949. The marriage seems to have been Collin's and Sykes's second. The way the letters are adressed also points to Sykes having moved from Los Angeles to Seattle, probably in June, before the marriage took place on 26 June. However, sometime between December 1949 and March 1951, Sykes moved back to Los Angeles, California. The following letters are to Sykes from her church friend and another friend from Los Angeles. In the latter, one can learn a little about operations jobs in Hollywood as Collins was looking for a steady job there. There are also letters addressed to Collins from his mother and a letter written to Collins from his aunt, also from Los Angeles. She wrote that on 17 July 1949, Collins's father, other relatives, and she, together with 35,000 others, went to hear Dr. Ralph Bunche speak at the Hollywood Bowl. Bunche was an American political scientist, academic, diplomat, a civil rights movement activist, and the first African American and a person of color to be awarded the Nobel Prize (1950). This collection is closed off by two letters from Collins to Sykes. At tha time, Collins and Sykes were seperated as Collins was stationed in San Francisco and Sykes lived in Los Angeles. The letters were written in March and August of 1951. They indicate that Collins was promoted from the rank of Private he held as of his marriage to Sykes to the rank of Corporal. They show that Collins was very much in love with his wife and give an impression of a happy marriage."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eBefore reproducing or quoting from any materials, in whole or in part, permission must be obtained from the Special Collections Research Center, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Use:"],"userestrict_tesim":["Before reproducing or quoting from any materials, in whole or in part, permission must be obtained from the Special Collections Research Center, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library."],"corpname_ssim":["Special Collections Research Center","United Service Organizations (U.S.)"],"names_coll_ssim":["United Service Organizations (U.S.)"],"persname_ssim":["Dansby, James","Collins, Benjamin D.","Collins, Gertha Sykes"],"names_ssim":["Special Collections Research Center","United Service Organizations (U.S.)","Dansby, James","Collins, Benjamin D.","Collins, Gertha Sykes"],"language_ssim":["English"],"total_component_count_is":7,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-06-23T07:41:50.510Z","scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003ePrimarily this is a collection of love letters written between 1942-1944 to Gertha Barbara Jean Sykes residing in St. Louis, Missouri and James NMI Dansby, an African-American soldier in the United States Army. There are also letters from two other Army soldiers, Jack Smith, stationed in the Pacific and Benjamin D. Collins, an aircompany soldier, whom Sykes married in 1949.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e The letters begin when Dansby joined the Army and started basic training in Camp Shelby, Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Initially he was a member of Company C, 262nd Quartermaster Battalion (Service), one of the many all-black units activated during the Second World War. In April of 1944, he became a member of 4060th Quartermaster Battalion. Towards the end of 1944, he was stationed to the South West Pacific Theatre and most likely spent the war in the Philippines. He was there until after World War II in Asia had ended and then spent approximately three and a half months in Japan. After his arrival to the United States in January 1946, Dansby travelled to St. Louis and then moved to Detroit, Michigan. He never met Sykes again after he had left St. Louis for basic training and their relationship ended in January of 1947.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e There are no letters written during Dansby's time in the Philippines and those mailed from Japan do not contain information about the war. Nevertheless, the collection provides a good insight into a soldier's life, contains numerous examples of military censorship of correspondence, and some reactions to the Jim Crow laws in place at the time.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e In addition to letters to Sykes and few letters addressed to Collins, the collection contains a certificate of marriage between Sykes and Collins, postcards issued by the War Department notifying Sykes of Dansby's assignments to new installations, and stamped envelopes accompanying almost every letter.\u003c/p\u003e  ","\u003cp\u003eScope and Contents This folder contains numerous love letters from Pvt. Dansby to Gertha Sykes, written from basic training in Camp Shelby, Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Dansby was assigned to one of the many all-black units activated during WWII, Company C, 262nd Quartermaster Battalion (Service) established in March 1942. The letters begin when Dansby joined the Army in October 1942 and indicate that Dansby and Sykes's romantic relationship predated Dansby's joining the Army to when both of them lived in St. Louis, Missouri. The letters contain much description of everyday Army life during basic training (pay, entertainment, training routines, etc.), including Dansby's expressions of dissatisfaction with it. They do not contain many political and social reactions. There are few comments regarding segregation in general, or more specifically, in the military, and they tend to be very matter-of-fact. One of them was on the poor organization of African-American soldiers in the camp, whom Dansby viewed as \"neglected to a certain extent\" (6 November 1942).\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eScope and Contents Just like folder 1, this folder also contains love letters from Dansby to Sykes. Dansby was still undergoing basic training in Camp Shelby, Mississippi and continued complaining about it, viewing it as too extensive and strenuous. Within a month's time, he advanced from the rank of Pvt. to Pfc., and later Cpl. and his unit moved out on maneuvers and on 1 April 1943 to the port of embarkation. Just like the letters from 1942, these also contain much description of everyday Army life during basic training: pay, rank advancement, entertainment, diet, training routines, furloughs, etc. They do not contain many political and social reactions, especially towards segregation. One comment specifically mentioning Jim Crow is in a letter written on 22 February 1943, at the bottom of page three. Dansby described Judy Canova's USO show, \"Hit the Deck\", and how touched he was by Canova's treatment of black soldiers. \"Judy Canova was fine, she talked with us, rather, to us and honey it made us feel so good to have a white person talk to us the way she did, after experincing [sic] the Jim Crow that persist down here, I've really taken some insults too.\"\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis folder contains love letters written to Sykes by Dansby, now a Private again, from new Army installations. It also contains two cards issued by the War Department notifying Sykes of Dansby's arrivals at the new destinations. Letters written between April and the end of May seem to have been sent from Camp Stoneman in Pittsburg, California and the San Francisco Port of Embarkation, California. On the other hand, letters written thereafter seem to have been sent from a classified location in the South Pacific since a September letter from the next folder reveals that and since the second War Department card was mailed on 29 May and the new APO number listed on it was the same number as the one listed on the envelope accompanying Dansby's letter dated 7 June. Unlike envelopes in folders #1 and #2, all envelopes in folder #3 show evidence of cencorship. They are stamped as Passed by Army Examiner. Dansby wrote about censorship quite often and complained to Sykes that it made it difficult for him to be as personable as he had been prior to its institution. On 14 April, he mentioned that his first letter from Camp Stoneman did not pass cencorship and was returned to him, and on 7 and 14 June, he mentioned the same regarding his first letters from the port of embarkation. While the letters in this folder mention Dansby's letters being rejected by the censors, they do not mention any letters from Sykes to Dansby as being rejected. Many letters also shed light on the way censorship was conducted. For example, in letters dated 14 and 20 April, respectively, Dansby mentioned that he was forbidden to send personal correspondence while being moved from Missouri to California and that he was not allowed to scratch words out. Further, in a letter dated 12 August, he explained to Sykes that the small cut out in his letter from 14 June was due to his having used two question marks, while censorship only allowed one. One can find more examples of such cut-outs in the letter of 14 July. Despite censorship, Dansby continued writing about his everyday life. He was satisfied with Camp Stoneman, as well as the California climate and landscape, all of which he much preferred to Camp Shelby and Mississippi. However, after moving to the South Pacific location, his morale sank more and more until he hit his low point on Christmas Day, 1943. Sykes, on the other hand, moved to another address in St. Louis and was in the process of a divorce and a lawsuit (both had not been mentioned before), which she ultimately lost. It appears she had a son nicknamed \"Snookie.\"\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eScope and Contents Just like letters in folders #2 and 3, these letters are an extension of those in the previous folder. Dansby continues to write love letters to Sykes from the South Pacific island. During the time span of the letters, Sykes moved within St. Louis, for the second time since October 1942, changed her job, from which she was laid off soon thereafter (letter of 30 October), and had her divorce finalized (letter of 21 November). Dansby, on the other hand, became progressively more depressed and homesick. In comparison to the ports of embarkation in California, the conditions on the classified island were austere and, as it has been the case since Dansby joined the Army, he wished the war were over and he could see Sykes and St. Louis. His morale hit rock bottom at the end of December when he wrote, \"I am putting up a fight against the shattering of my morale and darling [sic] I am telling you [sic] it's not easy at all. Whatever happens though [sic] you can bet I'll be here thinking of you and fighting to my last breath\" (25 December 1943). While Dansby did not get shipped off to the Pacific front between September and December, his letters suggest that others from his basic training cohort were starting to get shipped off to both, the European and the Pacific, fronts. For example, in his letter from 1 December 1943, he wrote that his fellow soldier and friend, Nelson, had been sent to England. The letters contain much evidence of censorship in the form of cutouts. The most interesting are from 9 and 14 September and 21 November. For example, the 9 September letter has cutouts with cut out penciled in above them.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eScope and Contents The initial letters from 1944 were written from the same classified location in the South Pacific as the letters in the previous folder. Starting in late January, however, they were written from a new location. Dansby wrote, \"I feel better too, now that we're all back together again\" (27 January 1944) and mentioned he had been very busy since moving (29 February 1944). In addition to having been relocated, Dansby's military unit changed in April, from Co. C 262nd to 4060th. Then, in June, Dansby was awarded a \"good conduct\" medal and his letter from 26 July seems to suggest that there was a write-up about it in The Argus sometime before 15 July. The Argus (http://www.stlargus.com/) is the oldest continuous black business in the state of Missouri and one of the oldest black newspapers in America. While Dansby's letters had always been regular, period between 8 August and 12 October represents an unusually long gap. This gap was not elaborated on in the last letter of this folder from 12 October, but one learns from it that Sykes moved to Los Angeles, California; that Dansby was moved to yet another, new location; and that he was promoted to Private First Class. After 12 October, there is yet another gap in correspondence (see folder 6). In addition to letters from Dansby, the folder contains the first letter of this collection written to Sykes from a different correspondent. The correspondent's name is Jack Smith, who, like Dansby, was also a soldier in the US Army stationed in the Pacific. Smith was in an antiaircraft artillery gun battalion, Battery B 77th AAA Gun Bn (Sm). His letter is dated 30 May 1944.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis folder contains the largest variety of letters of this collection. Some letters are to Sykes and some are to Collins. There are love letters from Dansby to Sykes and from Collins to Sykes, letters from Smith and various friends from Los Angeles and San Francisco to Sykes, as well as letters from Collins's mother and aunt to Collins. The latter, although addressed to Collins only, were actually written to Collins and Sykes as a married couple. In addition to letters, the folder contains Sykes's and Collins's marriage certificate. The first letter of this folder was written by Dansby on 8 November 1945, a little over a year after the last letter of the previous folder, also by Dansby. Dansby explained the last couple of months of this gap in correspondence by his leaving Sykes's address in Manila when he was moved to Japan. He also wrote that he had not been receiving any letters during those couple of months. By the time this letter was written, the war in Asia had ended on 15 August 1945. Dansby's letters reveal he was stationed in Manila, Philippines until September 17, then in Japan, and that he was expecting to go home before Christmas. Regrettably, neither this nor the previous folders from which we find out that Dansby was stationed on the Pacific front, contain any letters describing Dansby's service in the Philippines or Japan. The second letter of this folder was also from Dansby. Dansby wrote it two months later from the Service Men's Telephone Center in Camp Anza, California, after he had failed to reach Sykes via telephone. He informed Sykes that he had left Japan the day after Christmas and that his course was set for Seattle, but was changed to Hawaii due to weather conditions. Dansby docked in San Pedro on 9 January, arrived at the Camp on 10 January, and left for St. Louis, Missouri on 11 January. The third letter was written three months later, on 10 April 1946, from Detroit, Michigan, also by Dansby. One learns from it that he was in St. Louis until 7 April and left for Michigan instead of Los Angeles, where he could have met Sykes. He wrote to Sykes, \"I am wondering if I have been wrong in my decision to come here. I counteract this thought with your decision in going to L.A. If you had cared enough that wouldn't have happened. Someday you and I shall be so sorry for mistakes that will have gone too far to be corrected.\" The above letter is followed by a group of Dansby's letters written between August 1946 and January 1947. During that time Dansby was still living and working in Detroit. In the second part of September, he wanted to travel to Los Angeles to meet with Sykes, but since he did not receive a response from her soon enough, he did not go. In October Dansby lost his job, which put him in a very difficult financial situation. Finally, in January the relationship between Sykes and Dansby seems to have formally ended. In the letter dated 13 January 1947, Dansby wrote, \"Since you have made yourself so explicit. [sic] I guess I may feel relieved of any bond and focus interest in Detroit (...) I am really glad we have this understanding [sic] I can breathe easier. Hope that we may remain friends. (it's more human) [sic].\" This is the last letter of this collection from Dansby. The next letter of this collection was written over two years after Dansby's last letter to Sykes. The letter is from Collins, an Aircompany Veteran (R.V.T.). It is dated 22 May 1949 and was mailed from Fort Lawton, a United States Army post located in Seattle, Washington. The letter is the first of this collection from Collins to Sykes and it is a love note. The next item of the folder is Sykes and Collins's certificate of marriage officiated by a U.S. Army Chaplain, Ernest W. Armstrong Sr. in Ft. Lawton, Washington on 26 June 1949. The marriage seems to have been Collin's and Sykes's second. The way the letters are adressed also points to Sykes having moved from Los Angeles to Seattle, probably in June, before the marriage took place on 26 June. However, sometime between December 1949 and March 1951, Sykes moved back to Los Angeles, California. The following letters are to Sykes from her church friend and another friend from Los Angeles. In the latter, one can learn a little about operations jobs in Hollywood as Collins was looking for a steady job there. There are also letters addressed to Collins from his mother and a letter written to Collins from his aunt, also from Los Angeles. She wrote that on 17 July 1949, Collins's father, other relatives, and she, together with 35,000 others, went to hear Dr. Ralph Bunche speak at the Hollywood Bowl. Bunche was an American political scientist, academic, diplomat, a civil rights movement activist, and the first African American and a person of color to be awarded the Nobel Prize (1950). This collection is closed off by two letters from Collins to Sykes. At tha time, Collins and Sykes were seperated as Collins was stationed in San Francisco and Sykes lived in Los Angeles. The letters were written in March and August of 1951. They indicate that Collins was promoted from the rank of Private he held as of his marriage to Sykes to the rank of Corporal. They show that Collins was very much in love with his wife and give an impression of a happy marriage.\u003c/p\u003e"],"collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"viw_repositories_2_resources_1730","ead_ssi":"viw_repositories_2_resources_1730","_root_":"viw_repositories_2_resources_1730","_nest_parent_":"viw_repositories_2_resources_1730","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/WM/repositories_2_resources_1730.xml","title_filing_ssi":"Collins, Gertha Sykes, Papers","title_ssm":["Gertha Sykes Collins Papers"],"title_tesim":["Gertha Sykes Collins Papers"],"unitdate_ssm":["1942-1951"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1942-1951"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1942/1951"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Gertha Sykes Collins Papers, 1942/1951"],"text":["Gertha Sykes Collins Papers, 1942/1951","Mss. Acc. 2011.487","/repositories/2/resources/1730","Camp Shelby (Miss.)","Fort Mason (Calif.)--History","Love-letters","African Americans--History--20th century","Censorship--United States--History--20th century","Courtship--1940-1950","Courtship--United States--History--20th century","Segregation--United States--1940-1950","Soldiers--1940-1950","Soldiers--American--1940-1950","Soldiers--Recreation","Soldiers--Training of--United States--History--20th century","Soldiers--United States--Correspondence","Soldiers--United States--Social life and customs--20th century","World War, 1939-1945--Pacific Area","World War, 1939-1945--United States","Letters (correspondence)","Collection is open to all researchers. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, such as the Virginia Public Records Act (Code of Virginia. § 42.1-76-91); and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Code of Virginia § 2.2-3705.5). Confidential material may include, but is not limited to, educational, medical, and personnel records. If sensitive material is found in this collection, please contact a staff member immediately. The disclosure of personally identifiable information pertaining to a living individual may have legal consequences for which the College of William and Mary assumes no responsibility.","Arranged chronologically.","Accessioned and minimally processed by Benjamin Bromley in July 2011. Further processed and described by Ania Leska in 2012/2013.","A Guide to World War II Resources in the Special Collections Research Center","Information about related materials is available at http://guides.swem.wm.edu/WorldWarII","Primarily this is a collection of love letters written between 1942-1944 to Gertha Barbara Jean Sykes residing in St. Louis, Missouri and James NMI Dansby, an African-American soldier in the United States Army. There are also letters from two other Army soldiers, Jack Smith, stationed in the Pacific and Benjamin D. Collins, an aircompany soldier, whom Sykes married in 1949.","The letters begin when Dansby joined the Army and started basic training in Camp Shelby, Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Initially he was a member of Company C, 262nd Quartermaster Battalion (Service), one of the many all-black units activated during the Second World War. In April of 1944, he became a member of 4060th Quartermaster Battalion. Towards the end of 1944, he was stationed to the South West Pacific Theatre and most likely spent the war in the Philippines. He was there until after World War II in Asia had ended and then spent approximately three and a half months in Japan. After his arrival to the United States in January 1946, Dansby travelled to St. Louis and then moved to Detroit, Michigan. He never met Sykes again after he had left St. Louis for basic training and their relationship ended in January of 1947.","There are no letters written during Dansby's time in the Philippines and those mailed from Japan do not contain information about the war. Nevertheless, the collection provides a good insight into a soldier's life, contains numerous examples of military censorship of correspondence, and some reactions to the Jim Crow laws in place at the time.","In addition to letters to Sykes and few letters addressed to Collins, the collection contains a certificate of marriage between Sykes and Collins, postcards issued by the War Department notifying Sykes of Dansby's assignments to new installations, and stamped envelopes accompanying almost every letter.","Scope and Contents This folder contains numerous love letters from Pvt. Dansby to Gertha Sykes, written from basic training in Camp Shelby, Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Dansby was assigned to one of the many all-black units activated during WWII, Company C, 262nd Quartermaster Battalion (Service) established in March 1942. The letters begin when Dansby joined the Army in October 1942 and indicate that Dansby and Sykes's romantic relationship predated Dansby's joining the Army to when both of them lived in St. Louis, Missouri. The letters contain much description of everyday Army life during basic training (pay, entertainment, training routines, etc.), including Dansby's expressions of dissatisfaction with it. They do not contain many political and social reactions. There are few comments regarding segregation in general, or more specifically, in the military, and they tend to be very matter-of-fact. One of them was on the poor organization of African-American soldiers in the camp, whom Dansby viewed as \"neglected to a certain extent\" (6 November 1942).","Scope and Contents Just like folder 1, this folder also contains love letters from Dansby to Sykes. Dansby was still undergoing basic training in Camp Shelby, Mississippi and continued complaining about it, viewing it as too extensive and strenuous. Within a month's time, he advanced from the rank of Pvt. to Pfc., and later Cpl. and his unit moved out on maneuvers and on 1 April 1943 to the port of embarkation. Just like the letters from 1942, these also contain much description of everyday Army life during basic training: pay, rank advancement, entertainment, diet, training routines, furloughs, etc. They do not contain many political and social reactions, especially towards segregation. One comment specifically mentioning Jim Crow is in a letter written on 22 February 1943, at the bottom of page three. Dansby described Judy Canova's USO show, \"Hit the Deck\", and how touched he was by Canova's treatment of black soldiers. \"Judy Canova was fine, she talked with us, rather, to us and honey it made us feel so good to have a white person talk to us the way she did, after experincing [sic] the Jim Crow that persist down here, I've really taken some insults too.\"","This folder contains love letters written to Sykes by Dansby, now a Private again, from new Army installations. It also contains two cards issued by the War Department notifying Sykes of Dansby's arrivals at the new destinations. Letters written between April and the end of May seem to have been sent from Camp Stoneman in Pittsburg, California and the San Francisco Port of Embarkation, California. On the other hand, letters written thereafter seem to have been sent from a classified location in the South Pacific since a September letter from the next folder reveals that and since the second War Department card was mailed on 29 May and the new APO number listed on it was the same number as the one listed on the envelope accompanying Dansby's letter dated 7 June. Unlike envelopes in folders #1 and #2, all envelopes in folder #3 show evidence of cencorship. They are stamped as Passed by Army Examiner. Dansby wrote about censorship quite often and complained to Sykes that it made it difficult for him to be as personable as he had been prior to its institution. On 14 April, he mentioned that his first letter from Camp Stoneman did not pass cencorship and was returned to him, and on 7 and 14 June, he mentioned the same regarding his first letters from the port of embarkation. While the letters in this folder mention Dansby's letters being rejected by the censors, they do not mention any letters from Sykes to Dansby as being rejected. Many letters also shed light on the way censorship was conducted. For example, in letters dated 14 and 20 April, respectively, Dansby mentioned that he was forbidden to send personal correspondence while being moved from Missouri to California and that he was not allowed to scratch words out. Further, in a letter dated 12 August, he explained to Sykes that the small cut out in his letter from 14 June was due to his having used two question marks, while censorship only allowed one. One can find more examples of such cut-outs in the letter of 14 July. Despite censorship, Dansby continued writing about his everyday life. He was satisfied with Camp Stoneman, as well as the California climate and landscape, all of which he much preferred to Camp Shelby and Mississippi. However, after moving to the South Pacific location, his morale sank more and more until he hit his low point on Christmas Day, 1943. Sykes, on the other hand, moved to another address in St. Louis and was in the process of a divorce and a lawsuit (both had not been mentioned before), which she ultimately lost. It appears she had a son nicknamed \"Snookie.\"","Scope and Contents Just like letters in folders #2 and 3, these letters are an extension of those in the previous folder. Dansby continues to write love letters to Sykes from the South Pacific island. During the time span of the letters, Sykes moved within St. Louis, for the second time since October 1942, changed her job, from which she was laid off soon thereafter (letter of 30 October), and had her divorce finalized (letter of 21 November). Dansby, on the other hand, became progressively more depressed and homesick. In comparison to the ports of embarkation in California, the conditions on the classified island were austere and, as it has been the case since Dansby joined the Army, he wished the war were over and he could see Sykes and St. Louis. His morale hit rock bottom at the end of December when he wrote, \"I am putting up a fight against the shattering of my morale and darling [sic] I am telling you [sic] it's not easy at all. Whatever happens though [sic] you can bet I'll be here thinking of you and fighting to my last breath\" (25 December 1943). While Dansby did not get shipped off to the Pacific front between September and December, his letters suggest that others from his basic training cohort were starting to get shipped off to both, the European and the Pacific, fronts. For example, in his letter from 1 December 1943, he wrote that his fellow soldier and friend, Nelson, had been sent to England. The letters contain much evidence of censorship in the form of cutouts. The most interesting are from 9 and 14 September and 21 November. For example, the 9 September letter has cutouts with cut out penciled in above them.","Scope and Contents The initial letters from 1944 were written from the same classified location in the South Pacific as the letters in the previous folder. Starting in late January, however, they were written from a new location. Dansby wrote, \"I feel better too, now that we're all back together again\" (27 January 1944) and mentioned he had been very busy since moving (29 February 1944). In addition to having been relocated, Dansby's military unit changed in April, from Co. C 262nd to 4060th. Then, in June, Dansby was awarded a \"good conduct\" medal and his letter from 26 July seems to suggest that there was a write-up about it in The Argus sometime before 15 July. The Argus (http://www.stlargus.com/) is the oldest continuous black business in the state of Missouri and one of the oldest black newspapers in America. While Dansby's letters had always been regular, period between 8 August and 12 October represents an unusually long gap. This gap was not elaborated on in the last letter of this folder from 12 October, but one learns from it that Sykes moved to Los Angeles, California; that Dansby was moved to yet another, new location; and that he was promoted to Private First Class. After 12 October, there is yet another gap in correspondence (see folder 6). In addition to letters from Dansby, the folder contains the first letter of this collection written to Sykes from a different correspondent. The correspondent's name is Jack Smith, who, like Dansby, was also a soldier in the US Army stationed in the Pacific. Smith was in an antiaircraft artillery gun battalion, Battery B 77th AAA Gun Bn (Sm). His letter is dated 30 May 1944.","This folder contains the largest variety of letters of this collection. Some letters are to Sykes and some are to Collins. There are love letters from Dansby to Sykes and from Collins to Sykes, letters from Smith and various friends from Los Angeles and San Francisco to Sykes, as well as letters from Collins's mother and aunt to Collins. The latter, although addressed to Collins only, were actually written to Collins and Sykes as a married couple. In addition to letters, the folder contains Sykes's and Collins's marriage certificate. The first letter of this folder was written by Dansby on 8 November 1945, a little over a year after the last letter of the previous folder, also by Dansby. Dansby explained the last couple of months of this gap in correspondence by his leaving Sykes's address in Manila when he was moved to Japan. He also wrote that he had not been receiving any letters during those couple of months. By the time this letter was written, the war in Asia had ended on 15 August 1945. Dansby's letters reveal he was stationed in Manila, Philippines until September 17, then in Japan, and that he was expecting to go home before Christmas. Regrettably, neither this nor the previous folders from which we find out that Dansby was stationed on the Pacific front, contain any letters describing Dansby's service in the Philippines or Japan. The second letter of this folder was also from Dansby. Dansby wrote it two months later from the Service Men's Telephone Center in Camp Anza, California, after he had failed to reach Sykes via telephone. He informed Sykes that he had left Japan the day after Christmas and that his course was set for Seattle, but was changed to Hawaii due to weather conditions. Dansby docked in San Pedro on 9 January, arrived at the Camp on 10 January, and left for St. Louis, Missouri on 11 January. The third letter was written three months later, on 10 April 1946, from Detroit, Michigan, also by Dansby. One learns from it that he was in St. Louis until 7 April and left for Michigan instead of Los Angeles, where he could have met Sykes. He wrote to Sykes, \"I am wondering if I have been wrong in my decision to come here. I counteract this thought with your decision in going to L.A. If you had cared enough that wouldn't have happened. Someday you and I shall be so sorry for mistakes that will have gone too far to be corrected.\" The above letter is followed by a group of Dansby's letters written between August 1946 and January 1947. During that time Dansby was still living and working in Detroit. In the second part of September, he wanted to travel to Los Angeles to meet with Sykes, but since he did not receive a response from her soon enough, he did not go. In October Dansby lost his job, which put him in a very difficult financial situation. Finally, in January the relationship between Sykes and Dansby seems to have formally ended. In the letter dated 13 January 1947, Dansby wrote, \"Since you have made yourself so explicit. [sic] I guess I may feel relieved of any bond and focus interest in Detroit (...) I am really glad we have this understanding [sic] I can breathe easier. Hope that we may remain friends. (it's more human) [sic].\" This is the last letter of this collection from Dansby. The next letter of this collection was written over two years after Dansby's last letter to Sykes. The letter is from Collins, an Aircompany Veteran (R.V.T.). It is dated 22 May 1949 and was mailed from Fort Lawton, a United States Army post located in Seattle, Washington. The letter is the first of this collection from Collins to Sykes and it is a love note. The next item of the folder is Sykes and Collins's certificate of marriage officiated by a U.S. Army Chaplain, Ernest W. Armstrong Sr. in Ft. Lawton, Washington on 26 June 1949. The marriage seems to have been Collin's and Sykes's second. The way the letters are adressed also points to Sykes having moved from Los Angeles to Seattle, probably in June, before the marriage took place on 26 June. However, sometime between December 1949 and March 1951, Sykes moved back to Los Angeles, California. The following letters are to Sykes from her church friend and another friend from Los Angeles. In the latter, one can learn a little about operations jobs in Hollywood as Collins was looking for a steady job there. There are also letters addressed to Collins from his mother and a letter written to Collins from his aunt, also from Los Angeles. She wrote that on 17 July 1949, Collins's father, other relatives, and she, together with 35,000 others, went to hear Dr. Ralph Bunche speak at the Hollywood Bowl. Bunche was an American political scientist, academic, diplomat, a civil rights movement activist, and the first African American and a person of color to be awarded the Nobel Prize (1950). This collection is closed off by two letters from Collins to Sykes. At tha time, Collins and Sykes were seperated as Collins was stationed in San Francisco and Sykes lived in Los Angeles. The letters were written in March and August of 1951. They indicate that Collins was promoted from the rank of Private he held as of his marriage to Sykes to the rank of Corporal. They show that Collins was very much in love with his wife and give an impression of a happy marriage.","Before reproducing or quoting from any materials, in whole or in part, permission must be obtained from the Special Collections Research Center, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library.","Special Collections Research Center","United Service Organizations (U.S.)","Dansby, James","Collins, Benjamin D.","Collins, Gertha Sykes","English"],"collection_title_tesim":["Gertha Sykes Collins Papers, 1942/1951"],"collection_ssim":["Gertha Sykes Collins Papers, 1942/1951"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["Mss. Acc. 2011.487","/repositories/2/resources/1730"],"unitid_tesim":["Mss. Acc. 2011.487","/repositories/2/resources/1730"],"repository_ssm":["College of William and Mary"],"repository_ssim":["College of William and Mary"],"geogname_ssm":["Camp Shelby (Miss.)","Fort Mason (Calif.)--History"],"geogname_ssim":["Camp Shelby (Miss.)","Fort Mason (Calif.)--History"],"places_ssim":["Camp Shelby (Miss.)","Fort Mason (Calif.)--History"],"creator_ssm":["Dansby, James","Collins, Benjamin D.","Collins, Gertha Sykes"],"creator_ssim":["Dansby, James","Collins, Benjamin D.","Collins, Gertha Sykes"],"creator_persname_ssim":["Dansby, James","Collins, Benjamin D.","Collins, Gertha Sykes"],"creator_corpname_ssim":["Special Collections Research Center","United Service Organizations (U.S.)"],"creators_ssim":["Dansby, James","Collins, Benjamin D.","Collins, Gertha Sykes","Special Collections Research Center","United Service Organizations (U.S.)"],"access_terms_ssm":["Before reproducing or quoting from any materials, in whole or in part, permission must be obtained from the Special Collections Research Center, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Love-letters","African Americans--History--20th century","Censorship--United States--History--20th century","Courtship--1940-1950","Courtship--United States--History--20th century","Segregation--United States--1940-1950","Soldiers--1940-1950","Soldiers--American--1940-1950","Soldiers--Recreation","Soldiers--Training of--United States--History--20th century","Soldiers--United States--Correspondence","Soldiers--United States--Social life and customs--20th century","World War, 1939-1945--Pacific Area","World War, 1939-1945--United States","Letters (correspondence)"],"access_subjects_ssm":["Love-letters","African Americans--History--20th century","Censorship--United States--History--20th century","Courtship--1940-1950","Courtship--United States--History--20th century","Segregation--United States--1940-1950","Soldiers--1940-1950","Soldiers--American--1940-1950","Soldiers--Recreation","Soldiers--Training of--United States--History--20th century","Soldiers--United States--Correspondence","Soldiers--United States--Social life and customs--20th century","World War, 1939-1945--Pacific Area","World War, 1939-1945--United States","Letters (correspondence)"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["0.40 Linear Feet 1 Full Hollinger box."],"extent_tesim":["0.40 Linear Feet 1 Full Hollinger box."],"genreform_ssim":["Letters (correspondence)"],"date_range_isim":[1942,1943,1944,1945,1946,1947,1948,1949,1950,1951],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eCollection is open to all researchers. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, such as the Virginia Public Records Act (Code of Virginia. § 42.1-76-91); and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Code of Virginia § 2.2-3705.5). Confidential material may include, but is not limited to, educational, medical, and personnel records. If sensitive material is found in this collection, please contact a staff member immediately. The disclosure of personally identifiable information pertaining to a living individual may have legal consequences for which the College of William and Mary assumes no responsibility.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Access:"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["Collection is open to all researchers. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, such as the Virginia Public Records Act (Code of Virginia. § 42.1-76-91); and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Code of Virginia § 2.2-3705.5). Confidential material may include, but is not limited to, educational, medical, and personnel records. If sensitive material is found in this collection, please contact a staff member immediately. The disclosure of personally identifiable information pertaining to a living individual may have legal consequences for which the College of William and Mary assumes no responsibility."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eArranged chronologically.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement of Materials:"],"arrangement_tesim":["Arranged chronologically."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eGertha Sykes Collins Papers, Special Collections Resarch Center, Swem Library, College of William and Mary.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"prefercite_tesim":["Gertha Sykes Collins Papers, Special Collections Resarch Center, Swem Library, College of William and Mary."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eAccessioned and minimally processed by Benjamin Bromley in July 2011. Further processed and described by Ania Leska in 2012/2013.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information:"],"processinfo_tesim":["Accessioned and minimally processed by Benjamin Bromley in July 2011. Further processed and described by Ania Leska in 2012/2013."],"relatedmaterial_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eA Guide to World War II Resources in the Special Collections Research Center\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e Information about related materials is available at http://guides.swem.wm.edu/WorldWarII\u003c/p\u003e  "],"relatedmaterial_heading_ssm":["Related Materials:"],"relatedmaterial_tesim":["A Guide to World War II Resources in the Special Collections Research Center","Information about related materials is available at http://guides.swem.wm.edu/WorldWarII"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Contents","Scope and Contents","Scope and Contents","Scope and Contents","Scope and Contents","Scope and Contents","Scope and Contents"],"scopecontent_tesim":["Primarily this is a collection of love letters written between 1942-1944 to Gertha Barbara Jean Sykes residing in St. Louis, Missouri and James NMI Dansby, an African-American soldier in the United States Army. There are also letters from two other Army soldiers, Jack Smith, stationed in the Pacific and Benjamin D. Collins, an aircompany soldier, whom Sykes married in 1949.","The letters begin when Dansby joined the Army and started basic training in Camp Shelby, Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Initially he was a member of Company C, 262nd Quartermaster Battalion (Service), one of the many all-black units activated during the Second World War. In April of 1944, he became a member of 4060th Quartermaster Battalion. Towards the end of 1944, he was stationed to the South West Pacific Theatre and most likely spent the war in the Philippines. He was there until after World War II in Asia had ended and then spent approximately three and a half months in Japan. After his arrival to the United States in January 1946, Dansby travelled to St. Louis and then moved to Detroit, Michigan. He never met Sykes again after he had left St. Louis for basic training and their relationship ended in January of 1947.","There are no letters written during Dansby's time in the Philippines and those mailed from Japan do not contain information about the war. Nevertheless, the collection provides a good insight into a soldier's life, contains numerous examples of military censorship of correspondence, and some reactions to the Jim Crow laws in place at the time.","In addition to letters to Sykes and few letters addressed to Collins, the collection contains a certificate of marriage between Sykes and Collins, postcards issued by the War Department notifying Sykes of Dansby's assignments to new installations, and stamped envelopes accompanying almost every letter.","Scope and Contents This folder contains numerous love letters from Pvt. Dansby to Gertha Sykes, written from basic training in Camp Shelby, Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Dansby was assigned to one of the many all-black units activated during WWII, Company C, 262nd Quartermaster Battalion (Service) established in March 1942. The letters begin when Dansby joined the Army in October 1942 and indicate that Dansby and Sykes's romantic relationship predated Dansby's joining the Army to when both of them lived in St. Louis, Missouri. The letters contain much description of everyday Army life during basic training (pay, entertainment, training routines, etc.), including Dansby's expressions of dissatisfaction with it. They do not contain many political and social reactions. There are few comments regarding segregation in general, or more specifically, in the military, and they tend to be very matter-of-fact. One of them was on the poor organization of African-American soldiers in the camp, whom Dansby viewed as \"neglected to a certain extent\" (6 November 1942).","Scope and Contents Just like folder 1, this folder also contains love letters from Dansby to Sykes. Dansby was still undergoing basic training in Camp Shelby, Mississippi and continued complaining about it, viewing it as too extensive and strenuous. Within a month's time, he advanced from the rank of Pvt. to Pfc., and later Cpl. and his unit moved out on maneuvers and on 1 April 1943 to the port of embarkation. Just like the letters from 1942, these also contain much description of everyday Army life during basic training: pay, rank advancement, entertainment, diet, training routines, furloughs, etc. They do not contain many political and social reactions, especially towards segregation. One comment specifically mentioning Jim Crow is in a letter written on 22 February 1943, at the bottom of page three. Dansby described Judy Canova's USO show, \"Hit the Deck\", and how touched he was by Canova's treatment of black soldiers. \"Judy Canova was fine, she talked with us, rather, to us and honey it made us feel so good to have a white person talk to us the way she did, after experincing [sic] the Jim Crow that persist down here, I've really taken some insults too.\"","This folder contains love letters written to Sykes by Dansby, now a Private again, from new Army installations. It also contains two cards issued by the War Department notifying Sykes of Dansby's arrivals at the new destinations. Letters written between April and the end of May seem to have been sent from Camp Stoneman in Pittsburg, California and the San Francisco Port of Embarkation, California. On the other hand, letters written thereafter seem to have been sent from a classified location in the South Pacific since a September letter from the next folder reveals that and since the second War Department card was mailed on 29 May and the new APO number listed on it was the same number as the one listed on the envelope accompanying Dansby's letter dated 7 June. Unlike envelopes in folders #1 and #2, all envelopes in folder #3 show evidence of cencorship. They are stamped as Passed by Army Examiner. Dansby wrote about censorship quite often and complained to Sykes that it made it difficult for him to be as personable as he had been prior to its institution. On 14 April, he mentioned that his first letter from Camp Stoneman did not pass cencorship and was returned to him, and on 7 and 14 June, he mentioned the same regarding his first letters from the port of embarkation. While the letters in this folder mention Dansby's letters being rejected by the censors, they do not mention any letters from Sykes to Dansby as being rejected. Many letters also shed light on the way censorship was conducted. For example, in letters dated 14 and 20 April, respectively, Dansby mentioned that he was forbidden to send personal correspondence while being moved from Missouri to California and that he was not allowed to scratch words out. Further, in a letter dated 12 August, he explained to Sykes that the small cut out in his letter from 14 June was due to his having used two question marks, while censorship only allowed one. One can find more examples of such cut-outs in the letter of 14 July. Despite censorship, Dansby continued writing about his everyday life. He was satisfied with Camp Stoneman, as well as the California climate and landscape, all of which he much preferred to Camp Shelby and Mississippi. However, after moving to the South Pacific location, his morale sank more and more until he hit his low point on Christmas Day, 1943. Sykes, on the other hand, moved to another address in St. Louis and was in the process of a divorce and a lawsuit (both had not been mentioned before), which she ultimately lost. It appears she had a son nicknamed \"Snookie.\"","Scope and Contents Just like letters in folders #2 and 3, these letters are an extension of those in the previous folder. Dansby continues to write love letters to Sykes from the South Pacific island. During the time span of the letters, Sykes moved within St. Louis, for the second time since October 1942, changed her job, from which she was laid off soon thereafter (letter of 30 October), and had her divorce finalized (letter of 21 November). Dansby, on the other hand, became progressively more depressed and homesick. In comparison to the ports of embarkation in California, the conditions on the classified island were austere and, as it has been the case since Dansby joined the Army, he wished the war were over and he could see Sykes and St. Louis. His morale hit rock bottom at the end of December when he wrote, \"I am putting up a fight against the shattering of my morale and darling [sic] I am telling you [sic] it's not easy at all. Whatever happens though [sic] you can bet I'll be here thinking of you and fighting to my last breath\" (25 December 1943). While Dansby did not get shipped off to the Pacific front between September and December, his letters suggest that others from his basic training cohort were starting to get shipped off to both, the European and the Pacific, fronts. For example, in his letter from 1 December 1943, he wrote that his fellow soldier and friend, Nelson, had been sent to England. The letters contain much evidence of censorship in the form of cutouts. The most interesting are from 9 and 14 September and 21 November. For example, the 9 September letter has cutouts with cut out penciled in above them.","Scope and Contents The initial letters from 1944 were written from the same classified location in the South Pacific as the letters in the previous folder. Starting in late January, however, they were written from a new location. Dansby wrote, \"I feel better too, now that we're all back together again\" (27 January 1944) and mentioned he had been very busy since moving (29 February 1944). In addition to having been relocated, Dansby's military unit changed in April, from Co. C 262nd to 4060th. Then, in June, Dansby was awarded a \"good conduct\" medal and his letter from 26 July seems to suggest that there was a write-up about it in The Argus sometime before 15 July. The Argus (http://www.stlargus.com/) is the oldest continuous black business in the state of Missouri and one of the oldest black newspapers in America. While Dansby's letters had always been regular, period between 8 August and 12 October represents an unusually long gap. This gap was not elaborated on in the last letter of this folder from 12 October, but one learns from it that Sykes moved to Los Angeles, California; that Dansby was moved to yet another, new location; and that he was promoted to Private First Class. After 12 October, there is yet another gap in correspondence (see folder 6). In addition to letters from Dansby, the folder contains the first letter of this collection written to Sykes from a different correspondent. The correspondent's name is Jack Smith, who, like Dansby, was also a soldier in the US Army stationed in the Pacific. Smith was in an antiaircraft artillery gun battalion, Battery B 77th AAA Gun Bn (Sm). His letter is dated 30 May 1944.","This folder contains the largest variety of letters of this collection. Some letters are to Sykes and some are to Collins. There are love letters from Dansby to Sykes and from Collins to Sykes, letters from Smith and various friends from Los Angeles and San Francisco to Sykes, as well as letters from Collins's mother and aunt to Collins. The latter, although addressed to Collins only, were actually written to Collins and Sykes as a married couple. In addition to letters, the folder contains Sykes's and Collins's marriage certificate. The first letter of this folder was written by Dansby on 8 November 1945, a little over a year after the last letter of the previous folder, also by Dansby. Dansby explained the last couple of months of this gap in correspondence by his leaving Sykes's address in Manila when he was moved to Japan. He also wrote that he had not been receiving any letters during those couple of months. By the time this letter was written, the war in Asia had ended on 15 August 1945. Dansby's letters reveal he was stationed in Manila, Philippines until September 17, then in Japan, and that he was expecting to go home before Christmas. Regrettably, neither this nor the previous folders from which we find out that Dansby was stationed on the Pacific front, contain any letters describing Dansby's service in the Philippines or Japan. The second letter of this folder was also from Dansby. Dansby wrote it two months later from the Service Men's Telephone Center in Camp Anza, California, after he had failed to reach Sykes via telephone. He informed Sykes that he had left Japan the day after Christmas and that his course was set for Seattle, but was changed to Hawaii due to weather conditions. Dansby docked in San Pedro on 9 January, arrived at the Camp on 10 January, and left for St. Louis, Missouri on 11 January. The third letter was written three months later, on 10 April 1946, from Detroit, Michigan, also by Dansby. One learns from it that he was in St. Louis until 7 April and left for Michigan instead of Los Angeles, where he could have met Sykes. He wrote to Sykes, \"I am wondering if I have been wrong in my decision to come here. I counteract this thought with your decision in going to L.A. If you had cared enough that wouldn't have happened. Someday you and I shall be so sorry for mistakes that will have gone too far to be corrected.\" The above letter is followed by a group of Dansby's letters written between August 1946 and January 1947. During that time Dansby was still living and working in Detroit. In the second part of September, he wanted to travel to Los Angeles to meet with Sykes, but since he did not receive a response from her soon enough, he did not go. In October Dansby lost his job, which put him in a very difficult financial situation. Finally, in January the relationship between Sykes and Dansby seems to have formally ended. In the letter dated 13 January 1947, Dansby wrote, \"Since you have made yourself so explicit. [sic] I guess I may feel relieved of any bond and focus interest in Detroit (...) I am really glad we have this understanding [sic] I can breathe easier. Hope that we may remain friends. (it's more human) [sic].\" This is the last letter of this collection from Dansby. The next letter of this collection was written over two years after Dansby's last letter to Sykes. The letter is from Collins, an Aircompany Veteran (R.V.T.). It is dated 22 May 1949 and was mailed from Fort Lawton, a United States Army post located in Seattle, Washington. The letter is the first of this collection from Collins to Sykes and it is a love note. The next item of the folder is Sykes and Collins's certificate of marriage officiated by a U.S. Army Chaplain, Ernest W. Armstrong Sr. in Ft. Lawton, Washington on 26 June 1949. The marriage seems to have been Collin's and Sykes's second. The way the letters are adressed also points to Sykes having moved from Los Angeles to Seattle, probably in June, before the marriage took place on 26 June. However, sometime between December 1949 and March 1951, Sykes moved back to Los Angeles, California. The following letters are to Sykes from her church friend and another friend from Los Angeles. In the latter, one can learn a little about operations jobs in Hollywood as Collins was looking for a steady job there. There are also letters addressed to Collins from his mother and a letter written to Collins from his aunt, also from Los Angeles. She wrote that on 17 July 1949, Collins's father, other relatives, and she, together with 35,000 others, went to hear Dr. Ralph Bunche speak at the Hollywood Bowl. Bunche was an American political scientist, academic, diplomat, a civil rights movement activist, and the first African American and a person of color to be awarded the Nobel Prize (1950). This collection is closed off by two letters from Collins to Sykes. At tha time, Collins and Sykes were seperated as Collins was stationed in San Francisco and Sykes lived in Los Angeles. The letters were written in March and August of 1951. They indicate that Collins was promoted from the rank of Private he held as of his marriage to Sykes to the rank of Corporal. They show that Collins was very much in love with his wife and give an impression of a happy marriage."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eBefore reproducing or quoting from any materials, in whole or in part, permission must be obtained from the Special Collections Research Center, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Use:"],"userestrict_tesim":["Before reproducing or quoting from any materials, in whole or in part, permission must be obtained from the Special Collections Research Center, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library."],"corpname_ssim":["Special Collections Research Center","United Service Organizations (U.S.)"],"names_coll_ssim":["United Service Organizations (U.S.)"],"persname_ssim":["Dansby, James","Collins, Benjamin D.","Collins, Gertha Sykes"],"names_ssim":["Special Collections Research Center","United Service Organizations (U.S.)","Dansby, James","Collins, Benjamin D.","Collins, Gertha Sykes"],"language_ssim":["English"],"total_component_count_is":7,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-06-23T07:41:50.510Z","scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003ePrimarily this is a collection of love letters written between 1942-1944 to Gertha Barbara Jean Sykes residing in St. Louis, Missouri and James NMI Dansby, an African-American soldier in the United States Army. There are also letters from two other Army soldiers, Jack Smith, stationed in the Pacific and Benjamin D. Collins, an aircompany soldier, whom Sykes married in 1949.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e The letters begin when Dansby joined the Army and started basic training in Camp Shelby, Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Initially he was a member of Company C, 262nd Quartermaster Battalion (Service), one of the many all-black units activated during the Second World War. In April of 1944, he became a member of 4060th Quartermaster Battalion. Towards the end of 1944, he was stationed to the South West Pacific Theatre and most likely spent the war in the Philippines. He was there until after World War II in Asia had ended and then spent approximately three and a half months in Japan. After his arrival to the United States in January 1946, Dansby travelled to St. Louis and then moved to Detroit, Michigan. He never met Sykes again after he had left St. Louis for basic training and their relationship ended in January of 1947.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e There are no letters written during Dansby's time in the Philippines and those mailed from Japan do not contain information about the war. Nevertheless, the collection provides a good insight into a soldier's life, contains numerous examples of military censorship of correspondence, and some reactions to the Jim Crow laws in place at the time.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e In addition to letters to Sykes and few letters addressed to Collins, the collection contains a certificate of marriage between Sykes and Collins, postcards issued by the War Department notifying Sykes of Dansby's assignments to new installations, and stamped envelopes accompanying almost every letter.\u003c/p\u003e  ","\u003cp\u003eScope and Contents This folder contains numerous love letters from Pvt. Dansby to Gertha Sykes, written from basic training in Camp Shelby, Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Dansby was assigned to one of the many all-black units activated during WWII, Company C, 262nd Quartermaster Battalion (Service) established in March 1942. The letters begin when Dansby joined the Army in October 1942 and indicate that Dansby and Sykes's romantic relationship predated Dansby's joining the Army to when both of them lived in St. Louis, Missouri. The letters contain much description of everyday Army life during basic training (pay, entertainment, training routines, etc.), including Dansby's expressions of dissatisfaction with it. They do not contain many political and social reactions. There are few comments regarding segregation in general, or more specifically, in the military, and they tend to be very matter-of-fact. One of them was on the poor organization of African-American soldiers in the camp, whom Dansby viewed as \"neglected to a certain extent\" (6 November 1942).\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eScope and Contents Just like folder 1, this folder also contains love letters from Dansby to Sykes. Dansby was still undergoing basic training in Camp Shelby, Mississippi and continued complaining about it, viewing it as too extensive and strenuous. Within a month's time, he advanced from the rank of Pvt. to Pfc., and later Cpl. and his unit moved out on maneuvers and on 1 April 1943 to the port of embarkation. Just like the letters from 1942, these also contain much description of everyday Army life during basic training: pay, rank advancement, entertainment, diet, training routines, furloughs, etc. They do not contain many political and social reactions, especially towards segregation. One comment specifically mentioning Jim Crow is in a letter written on 22 February 1943, at the bottom of page three. Dansby described Judy Canova's USO show, \"Hit the Deck\", and how touched he was by Canova's treatment of black soldiers. \"Judy Canova was fine, she talked with us, rather, to us and honey it made us feel so good to have a white person talk to us the way she did, after experincing [sic] the Jim Crow that persist down here, I've really taken some insults too.\"\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis folder contains love letters written to Sykes by Dansby, now a Private again, from new Army installations. It also contains two cards issued by the War Department notifying Sykes of Dansby's arrivals at the new destinations. Letters written between April and the end of May seem to have been sent from Camp Stoneman in Pittsburg, California and the San Francisco Port of Embarkation, California. On the other hand, letters written thereafter seem to have been sent from a classified location in the South Pacific since a September letter from the next folder reveals that and since the second War Department card was mailed on 29 May and the new APO number listed on it was the same number as the one listed on the envelope accompanying Dansby's letter dated 7 June. Unlike envelopes in folders #1 and #2, all envelopes in folder #3 show evidence of cencorship. They are stamped as Passed by Army Examiner. Dansby wrote about censorship quite often and complained to Sykes that it made it difficult for him to be as personable as he had been prior to its institution. On 14 April, he mentioned that his first letter from Camp Stoneman did not pass cencorship and was returned to him, and on 7 and 14 June, he mentioned the same regarding his first letters from the port of embarkation. While the letters in this folder mention Dansby's letters being rejected by the censors, they do not mention any letters from Sykes to Dansby as being rejected. Many letters also shed light on the way censorship was conducted. For example, in letters dated 14 and 20 April, respectively, Dansby mentioned that he was forbidden to send personal correspondence while being moved from Missouri to California and that he was not allowed to scratch words out. Further, in a letter dated 12 August, he explained to Sykes that the small cut out in his letter from 14 June was due to his having used two question marks, while censorship only allowed one. One can find more examples of such cut-outs in the letter of 14 July. Despite censorship, Dansby continued writing about his everyday life. He was satisfied with Camp Stoneman, as well as the California climate and landscape, all of which he much preferred to Camp Shelby and Mississippi. However, after moving to the South Pacific location, his morale sank more and more until he hit his low point on Christmas Day, 1943. Sykes, on the other hand, moved to another address in St. Louis and was in the process of a divorce and a lawsuit (both had not been mentioned before), which she ultimately lost. It appears she had a son nicknamed \"Snookie.\"\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eScope and Contents Just like letters in folders #2 and 3, these letters are an extension of those in the previous folder. Dansby continues to write love letters to Sykes from the South Pacific island. During the time span of the letters, Sykes moved within St. Louis, for the second time since October 1942, changed her job, from which she was laid off soon thereafter (letter of 30 October), and had her divorce finalized (letter of 21 November). Dansby, on the other hand, became progressively more depressed and homesick. In comparison to the ports of embarkation in California, the conditions on the classified island were austere and, as it has been the case since Dansby joined the Army, he wished the war were over and he could see Sykes and St. Louis. His morale hit rock bottom at the end of December when he wrote, \"I am putting up a fight against the shattering of my morale and darling [sic] I am telling you [sic] it's not easy at all. Whatever happens though [sic] you can bet I'll be here thinking of you and fighting to my last breath\" (25 December 1943). While Dansby did not get shipped off to the Pacific front between September and December, his letters suggest that others from his basic training cohort were starting to get shipped off to both, the European and the Pacific, fronts. For example, in his letter from 1 December 1943, he wrote that his fellow soldier and friend, Nelson, had been sent to England. The letters contain much evidence of censorship in the form of cutouts. The most interesting are from 9 and 14 September and 21 November. For example, the 9 September letter has cutouts with cut out penciled in above them.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eScope and Contents The initial letters from 1944 were written from the same classified location in the South Pacific as the letters in the previous folder. Starting in late January, however, they were written from a new location. Dansby wrote, \"I feel better too, now that we're all back together again\" (27 January 1944) and mentioned he had been very busy since moving (29 February 1944). In addition to having been relocated, Dansby's military unit changed in April, from Co. C 262nd to 4060th. Then, in June, Dansby was awarded a \"good conduct\" medal and his letter from 26 July seems to suggest that there was a write-up about it in The Argus sometime before 15 July. The Argus (http://www.stlargus.com/) is the oldest continuous black business in the state of Missouri and one of the oldest black newspapers in America. While Dansby's letters had always been regular, period between 8 August and 12 October represents an unusually long gap. This gap was not elaborated on in the last letter of this folder from 12 October, but one learns from it that Sykes moved to Los Angeles, California; that Dansby was moved to yet another, new location; and that he was promoted to Private First Class. After 12 October, there is yet another gap in correspondence (see folder 6). In addition to letters from Dansby, the folder contains the first letter of this collection written to Sykes from a different correspondent. The correspondent's name is Jack Smith, who, like Dansby, was also a soldier in the US Army stationed in the Pacific. Smith was in an antiaircraft artillery gun battalion, Battery B 77th AAA Gun Bn (Sm). His letter is dated 30 May 1944.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis folder contains the largest variety of letters of this collection. Some letters are to Sykes and some are to Collins. There are love letters from Dansby to Sykes and from Collins to Sykes, letters from Smith and various friends from Los Angeles and San Francisco to Sykes, as well as letters from Collins's mother and aunt to Collins. The latter, although addressed to Collins only, were actually written to Collins and Sykes as a married couple. In addition to letters, the folder contains Sykes's and Collins's marriage certificate. The first letter of this folder was written by Dansby on 8 November 1945, a little over a year after the last letter of the previous folder, also by Dansby. Dansby explained the last couple of months of this gap in correspondence by his leaving Sykes's address in Manila when he was moved to Japan. He also wrote that he had not been receiving any letters during those couple of months. By the time this letter was written, the war in Asia had ended on 15 August 1945. Dansby's letters reveal he was stationed in Manila, Philippines until September 17, then in Japan, and that he was expecting to go home before Christmas. Regrettably, neither this nor the previous folders from which we find out that Dansby was stationed on the Pacific front, contain any letters describing Dansby's service in the Philippines or Japan. The second letter of this folder was also from Dansby. Dansby wrote it two months later from the Service Men's Telephone Center in Camp Anza, California, after he had failed to reach Sykes via telephone. He informed Sykes that he had left Japan the day after Christmas and that his course was set for Seattle, but was changed to Hawaii due to weather conditions. Dansby docked in San Pedro on 9 January, arrived at the Camp on 10 January, and left for St. Louis, Missouri on 11 January. The third letter was written three months later, on 10 April 1946, from Detroit, Michigan, also by Dansby. One learns from it that he was in St. Louis until 7 April and left for Michigan instead of Los Angeles, where he could have met Sykes. He wrote to Sykes, \"I am wondering if I have been wrong in my decision to come here. I counteract this thought with your decision in going to L.A. If you had cared enough that wouldn't have happened. Someday you and I shall be so sorry for mistakes that will have gone too far to be corrected.\" The above letter is followed by a group of Dansby's letters written between August 1946 and January 1947. During that time Dansby was still living and working in Detroit. In the second part of September, he wanted to travel to Los Angeles to meet with Sykes, but since he did not receive a response from her soon enough, he did not go. In October Dansby lost his job, which put him in a very difficult financial situation. Finally, in January the relationship between Sykes and Dansby seems to have formally ended. In the letter dated 13 January 1947, Dansby wrote, \"Since you have made yourself so explicit. [sic] I guess I may feel relieved of any bond and focus interest in Detroit (...) I am really glad we have this understanding [sic] I can breathe easier. Hope that we may remain friends. (it's more human) [sic].\" This is the last letter of this collection from Dansby. The next letter of this collection was written over two years after Dansby's last letter to Sykes. The letter is from Collins, an Aircompany Veteran (R.V.T.). It is dated 22 May 1949 and was mailed from Fort Lawton, a United States Army post located in Seattle, Washington. The letter is the first of this collection from Collins to Sykes and it is a love note. The next item of the folder is Sykes and Collins's certificate of marriage officiated by a U.S. Army Chaplain, Ernest W. Armstrong Sr. in Ft. Lawton, Washington on 26 June 1949. The marriage seems to have been Collin's and Sykes's second. The way the letters are adressed also points to Sykes having moved from Los Angeles to Seattle, probably in June, before the marriage took place on 26 June. However, sometime between December 1949 and March 1951, Sykes moved back to Los Angeles, California. The following letters are to Sykes from her church friend and another friend from Los Angeles. In the latter, one can learn a little about operations jobs in Hollywood as Collins was looking for a steady job there. There are also letters addressed to Collins from his mother and a letter written to Collins from his aunt, also from Los Angeles. She wrote that on 17 July 1949, Collins's father, other relatives, and she, together with 35,000 others, went to hear Dr. Ralph Bunche speak at the Hollywood Bowl. Bunche was an American political scientist, academic, diplomat, a civil rights movement activist, and the first African American and a person of color to be awarded the Nobel Prize (1950). This collection is closed off by two letters from Collins to Sykes. At tha time, Collins and Sykes were seperated as Collins was stationed in San Francisco and Sykes lived in Los Angeles. The letters were written in March and August of 1951. They indicate that Collins was promoted from the rank of Private he held as of his marriage to Sykes to the rank of Corporal. They show that Collins was very much in love with his wife and give an impression of a happy marriage.\u003c/p\u003e"]}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/viw_repositories_2_resources_1730"}}],"included":[{"type":"facet","id":"repository_ssim","attributes":{"label":"Repository","items":[{"attributes":{"label":"College of William and Mary","value":"College of William and Mary","hits":2},"links":{"self":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Baccess_subjects%5D%5B%5D=Soldiers--Recreation\u0026f%5Brepository%5D%5B%5D=College+of+William+and+Mary\u0026view=compact"}}]},"links":{"self":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/facet/repository_ssim.json?f%5Baccess_subjects%5D%5B%5D=Soldiers--Recreation\u0026view=compact"}},{"type":"facet","id":"collection_ssim","attributes":{"label":"Collection","items":[{"attributes":{"label":"Edgar Carl Hermann Diaries, 1912/1922","value":"Edgar Carl Hermann Diaries, 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