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DeWayne Lundgren Papers

Call Number

MS 393

Date

1942-1945, inclusive

Creator

Extent

1.44 Linear feet (3.5 boxes)

Language of Materials

English .

Abstract

DeWayne Lundgren, a Brooklyn, New York resident, was a private in the United States Army, serving in the 830th Signal Service Company during World War Two. After training in Fort Monmouth, NJ, he was posted to Africa and England 1943 - 1945. This collection contains approximately 232 letters from DeWayne to his girlfriend, Bertha Doktor, plus newsletters from Africa, The Stars and Stripes clippings, and a few of Bertha's letters to DeWayne.

Biographical Note

DeWayne Lundgren was from Brooklyn, New York. Lundgren joined army in late 1942. He was sent to Signal Corps basic training in Fort Edison New Jersey, then to the Eastern Signal Corps School at Fort Monmouth for three months training as part of the 15th Signal Training Regiment. His courses there included telephone installation. After graduation, he joined 830th Signal Service Company and in June 1943 he was sent to Africa. In February 1944 he arrived in England, where he spent some time as a driver among other duties for the army.

Bertha Doktor began her training for the United States Cadets Nurses Corps in early 1944 and was posted to a hospital in Jersey City, N.J.

Arrangement

Letters, both from Lundgren and Doktor, are filed chronologically, first by postmark, followed by date on letter. Some dates on letters clearly are errors, especially at the beginning of month. Several postmarks are missing from the envelopes.

Scope and Content Note

The bulk of the collection is approximately 230 letters from DeWayne Lundgren to Bertha Doktor. There are a few letters from Bertha to DeWayne, copies of the Bush Weekly (a newsletter published at his station in Africa), humorous clippings from The Stars and Stripes, greeting cards, telegrams, and a few miscellaneous artifacts. Letters describe in some detail Lundgren's induction at Camp Upton in Long Island Dec. 3, 1943, the daily life of basic training at Fort Edison (through January 3, 1944), and the training, camaraderie and routines at Fort Monmouth Eastern Signal Corps School (through mid-April, 1944). He writes extensively about his relationship with Bertha, the details of arranging times to spend with her, plus friends and relations in Bay Ridge.

In April 1944 he travels to Fort Mead in Maryland, then further south, and then to Africa. Several letters are missing from just before his journey to Africa and from his first weeks there. His overseas letters conform to censorship rules so there is less detail about his duties and routines. The letters reflect his interest in the news from home, Bertha's progress at nurse's training and attending movies and USO shows at the base. He descriptions of army life in Africa include servants and trips to the beach.

In February he arrives in England and he write about the weather, the return to menial duties, and assignments that do not use the skills he learned in Fort Monmouth. News from home, movies and radio continue to be a consistent subject in his letters, as is his dependence on local Red Cross canteens for American Servicemen.

Highlights include: a description of living conditions at Fort Edison December 1942 - January 1943 (Box 1, Folder 1); a letter from Africa describing how his bunkmates pooled together to fix their "houseboy's" bicycle for Christmas (December 25, 1943, Box 3 Folder 1); description of a wartime wedding in England, (October 12, 1944); a letter describing how many of his friends are getting letters from their girl friends breaking off relationships and how he feels about Bertha. Some of the humorous The Stars and Stripes clippings are annotated.

Access Restrictions

Open to qualified researchers.

Photocopying undertaken by staff only. Limited to twenty exposures of stable, unbound material per day. (Researchers may not accrue unused copy amounts from previous days.)

Use Restrictions

Permission to quote from this collection in a publication must be requested and granted in writing. Send permission requests, citing the name of the collection from which you wish to quote, to

Manuscripts Curator
The New-York Historical Society
170 Central Park West
New York, NY 10024

Preferred Citation

This collection should be cited as DeWayne Lundgren Papers, The New-York Historical Society.

Provenance

Purchase, 2006

Collection processed by

Processed by Corrinne A. Collett

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-21 15:49:15 -0400.
Language: Description is in English.

Edition of this Guide

This version was derivedfrom lundgren.xml

Repository

New-York Historical Society
New-York Historical Society
170 Central Park West
New York, NY 10024