Weldon E. Lewis, Jr. Papers

Collection

Identifier: Mss. Acc. 2007.42

Staff Only
No requestable containers

Scope and Contents

This is a collection of letters written mainly by Sgt. Weldon Eli Lewis, Jr. while he served in the 5th and 7th Army during World War II. He was in the Special Platoon of the company called Contact Platoon. The majority of the letters are written by Sgt. Weldon E. Lewis to his wife, Madge Colglazier Lewis. Some letters are written by Sgt. Lewis to his son, Weldon E. Lewis, III, his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Weldon E. Lewis and his in-laws, Mr. and Mrs. Carl M. Colglazier. A few letters were written by Madge Lewis and others to Sgt. Lewis after the war and were forwarded to his home after he returned. A few clippings and empty envelopes are included with the papers.

Sgt. Lewis wrote about how he missed and loved his wife, about the good times they had, about his son who was born while he was in the army, about his and his wife's family, about the stress of being separated for so long and about the anticipation of his homecoming.

The 1943 letters deal with their relationship and attempts to be together while he is stationed in the United States. The 1944 and 1945 letters show his sadness about missing his son's growth and his uncertainty about his relationship with his wife, plus comments on his wife's difficulties with his family and the war being hard on them all.

Even though Sgt. Lewis never goes into detail about his military operations, and even comments that such writing could endanger the war effort, he does write about his military training, his maneuvers, his social life, his rations, his leaves to London and Paris, his tank named "For Manny", his stays in the hospital, his view of Germany, his shock about President Roosevelt's death, VE Day, combat and his opinions on the war. Not until May 1945 did he reveal what his unit and position were, where he had been during the war and how combat affected him.

Dates

Creation: 1943-1945
Creation: Majority of material found in 1943-1945

Language of Materials

English

Conditions Governing Access:

This 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 Information:

Weldon Eli Lewis, Jr. was the son of Weldon Eli Lewis and Zula Frances Henry Lewis. He was born October 16, 1910 in Hot Springs, Arkansas and died April 19, 1970, location unknown.

He married Madge Colglazier on February 14, 1943.

He was a Corporal in the U.S.Army, stationed at Camp Cooke, California, before becoming a Sergeant in mid-January 1943. By May 1943 he was stationed near Nashville, Tennessee and by December 1943 he was stationed near Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania. By April 1944, he was stationed in England, France and possibly other European locations, until at least September 1945.

Extent

1.00 Linear Feet

Additional Description

Arrangement of Materials:

Series I, Letters, is arranged by writer or recipient, then chronologically within each subseries. Series II, Printed Material, is arranged chronologically, though most items are undated. Series III contains empty envelopes.