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Start Over Collection Gertha Sykes Collins Papers
College of William and Mary

Gertha Sykes Collins Papers

0.40 Linear Feet 1 Full Hollinger box.

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.

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Gertha Sykes Collins Papers 0.40 Linear Feet 1 Full Hollinger box.

Dansby, James

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.

Letters Box 1, Folder 1

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).

  1. Box 1

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