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August Lourenco letters, Special Collections Research Center, William and Mary Libraries.
The collection contains letters belonging to August "Auggie" Lourenco, a Portuguese-American from Newark, New Jersey, who served in the United States Army during World War II. Most letters are addressed to his girlfriend-then-wife, Anna "Ann" Lourenco (née Ertman), a second-generation Polish immigrant. Lourenco joined the United States Army in 1943 and completed his basic training at Camp Gordon, Georgia and Nashville, Tennessee, before being sent to Yuma, Arizona for additional training. Lourenco was then stationed across Europe, most often in Germany but also in France and Belgium. Most of Lourenco's work in the Army consisted of truck driving.
Many letters sent from August to Anna during his time in Europe are in the form of Victory Mail, or V-Mail. Several letters exchanged between August and Anna feature lipstick stains. These instances are noted in the individual folder's notes.
Other letters are from August Lourenco's relative, Gaspar Jose Lourenco, writing to August and Anna from his home in Arcos de Valdevez, Minho, a now former province of Portugal. Several of these letters are written partially in Portuguese.
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.
Items 1, 2, and 3 of this folder are letters with clear lipstick stains. The final item of this folder mentions the United States Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC, or "Wack" or "Wacks," as it was known colloquially).
Item 2 has attatched religious memorabilia, including a Catholic pin. The last item of this folder has a visible lipstick stain.
Item 6 of this folder has a visible lipstick stain.
Item 1 of this folder has a visible lipstick stain.
Item 6, a letter, is attached to an unexplained photograph of a young boy.
Item 1 is a record of a baby burial, "Baby Lourenco," dated October 1946.
The last item in this folder is a letter written entirely in Portuguese.