Wyman Taylor Letters, 1953
Content Description
15 handwritten letters from Wyman Taylor, Jr. to his wife during the Korean War. Taylor was stationed in Korea with the Army. The correspondence is arranged chronologically. Taylor discusses his various duties, including equipment cleaning and serving as a rifleman for a blast team. The letters mainly detail Taylor’s loneliness and desire for his wife. In August 1953, Taylor’s daughter Dawn is born in Detroit. Topic include finances, budgetary matters, and paying off debts. Taylor also discusses material goods sent home: a Korean painting, a letter opener, and a Japanese “itching” (or etching). He also asks for supplies: pen refills, watch repair, buttons, and a small calendar to keep track of the days.
Taylor briefly discusses the bombing of Kimpo village and the Kimpo Air Base. He often mentions the weather extremes in Korea and his sympathy for the Korean civilians during the war. In late 1953, Taylor discusses the “Commies” pledge to be south of Seoul by December. Primarily, he details how he wants to be home, what he calls “short timer’s flu” or his heightened anxiety as he approaches his scheduled departure from Korea. He is unable to share his locations or specific missions, but he does express his emotional state. After the birth of their daughter, Taylor tells his wife they have more in common because they have both known “what death looks like.”
Dates
- Creation: 1953
Creator
- Taylor, Wyman (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
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.
Conditions Governing Use
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.
Biographical / Historical
Wyman Taylor, Jr. is an Army private first class, the corporal, with Company B of the 453rd Engineers Construction Battalion and then the 558th Amphibious Truck Company during the Korean War. He was from Detroit, Michigan.
Extent
0.25 Linear Feet
Language
English
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Gary Barranger, class of ’73 Law ’76.
Source
- Gary Alonzo Barranger (Person)
Topical
- Title
- Guide to the Wyman Taylor Letters, 1953
- Author
- Mariaelena DiBenigno, SCRC Staff.
- Date
- 2018-11-01
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections Research Center Repository