Somethin' to Write Home About · Somethin to Write Home About: Military Service · Somethin' to Write Home About

Somethin to Write Home About: Military Service

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Title: Somethin to Write Home About: Military Service
Description: When military men and women are called to serve they sacrifice their personal lives, leaving behind families and jobs, to fight for their country’s freedom. Letters to and from home are essential for the soldiers and their loved ones to lift spirits and help them through tough times and long, lonely days. While the means of communication have changed over time, one thing remains constant: the need to know that their loved ones are safe. Even though these military personnel and family members did not realize the importance at the time, each correspondence provides valuable documentation of firsthand accounts of difficult living conditions, battles, and wartime efforts on the home front.

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Gordon John Read Collection, RC 258, Box 6
Gordon John Read Collection, RC 258, Box 5, Folder 3
Gordon John Read Collection, RC 258, Box 4, Folder 1
Gordon John Read Papers, RC 258, Boxes 3 & 4
Letters from home can tell us a story of a person’s life. Gordon John Read was an NIU student who left school to join the Marines during the Korean Conflict. He was an only child and Gordon’s family saved all his correspondence, even a Father’s Day card. A list of what to take for debarkation and his military scrapbook also were saved. Letter written on September 17, 1951 by Read to his Mom and Dad while stationed in Korea. Unfortunately Read died nine months to the day after he had enlisted. His death came during the battle of Heartbreak Ridge. Dave Richardson, a friend of Read in Korea was with him when he died and wrote back to his family: I was with Gordon when he got hit and although he passed on instantly I spent the night with him praying for him and for you who loved him so. I would not lie to you about the details and I can tell you he suffered nothing at all. It happened about 6:30 at night between hill 872 and 854 as we were charging into the N. Korean positions. During the 2 hours of fighting our company had well over 100 casualties out of our 150 men. You can see that it was not an easy situation at all and I had been very proud of Gordon because he was such a brave man.
W.W. Embree Collection, RC 2, 12/1-S-6
Alluminum and paper scrap piles collected for the war effort, DeKalb
W.W. Embree Collection, RC 2, Box 6, Folder 47
Oversize Cllection, RC 200, #s 389, 412
Wurlitzer Company Records, RC 169, Box 3, Folder 1
Wurlitzer Company, DeKalb, Illinois. Workers, mostly women, helping with war production
W.W. Embree Collection, RC 2, box 6, folder 47
"Women in war work" pamphlet, United States Employment Service of the War Manpower Commission
Robert Borden Papers, RC 186, Box 20, Folder 3