Comfort, Elsie Correspondence Guide to the Elsie Comfort Correspondence MS 00115

Guide to the Elsie Comfort Correspondence MS 00115


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Special Collections Research Center

spcoll@wm.edu

Mariaelena DiBenigno, SCRC Staff.

Repository
Special Collections Research Center
Identification
MS 00115
Title
Elsie Comfort Correspondence 1943-1952
Quantity
.25 Linear Feet
source
Gary Alonzo Barranger
Language
English .

Administrative Information

Conditions Governing Use

Before publishing quotations or excerpts from any materials, permission must be obtained from the Curator of Manuscripts and Rare Books, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library.

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.

Preferred Citation

Elsie Comfort Correspondence, Special Collections Research Center, William & Mary Libraries

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Gary Alonzo Barranger


Biographical / Historical

Elsie Jean Comfort lived in Elmira, New York, with her mother Alice Mae, her father Merrell, and her sisters Laura Jean and Mary Ellen. Comfort wrote letters to men from Elmira serving overseas with the Army, Navy, and Air Force, but none of her letters are contained here. She was also a musician who performed on the radio.

Content Description

The correspondence includes handwritten postcards, letters, and V-Mail as well as three photographs addressed to Elsie Jean Comfort (referred to as Elsie, Jean and Jeannie) from United States servicemen in the Army, Navy and Air Force during World War II and the Korean War. Several of the letter writers are from Comfort's hometown of Elmira, New York. Comfort receives letters from F.W. (Franklin Woodward or "Barney") Harlan; Charles R. Haner; James Ewing, Jr.; Donald Fickers; Richard T. Butts; Dick Murray; Raymond Haven; Roger Comfort; and Willie van der Linden, Comfort's post-World War II pen pal from Rotterdam, in the Netherlands. Comfort also receives one letter from her older sister, Jeanette Comfort.

Elsie is stateside during both conflicts but receives correspondence from Texas, Georgia, Alaska, Virginia, California, as well as posts in Europe, Africa and Australia. Several letters mention gifts sent to Comfort: Italian and French currency; Australian postage; and a small souvenir from Italy. The letters primarily show how correspondence provided a morale boost for military members. There is also a focus on contemporary entertainment and music, particularly in letters from Harlan, who is in a Navy band, and Fickers, a fan of popular music. Correspondents mention Irving Berlin and Bob Hope performances for the troops. Al Joslon is also discussed at length.

Ewing's 1952 death in a plane crash is also briefly described by Fickers.

Comfort's correspondence with van der Linden includes exchange of daily activities, school, and the weather. The pen pals also exchange small trinkets. There is a description of the American Cemetery at Margraten, and van der Linden describes World War II American soldiers as "liberators."

The three photographs depict the Alps (accompanied May 20, 1945 letter from Charles Haner); a school photograph of Willie van der Linden (accompanied March 27, 1949 letter from van der Linden); and Don Fickers playing poker (accompanied August 12, 1951 letter from Fickers).

Subjects and Indexing Terms

  • Comfort, Elsie
  • Gary Alonzo Barranger
  • Korean War, 1950-1953
  • Pen pals
  • World War, 1939-1945

Container List

Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 1
Correspondence, Address List
English.
Scope and Contents

Partial inventory from Elsie Comfort, including a list of servicemen with whom she corresponded and lists of current addresses as they were transferred.

Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 2
Correspondence
1943 March 16 - October 15English.
Scope and Contents

Postcard from March and a letter from October from Cpl. Dick Murray, a postcard from Pvt. Charles Haner from May, a letter from Raymond Haven from July, and a letter from Pvt. Francis Manning from October.

Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 3
Correspondence
1943 October 20 - December 4English.
Scope and Contents

Postcard and letter dated October, two letters from November, and one from December, all from F. W. "Barney" Harlan first from Camp Peary, Virginia and later from USN Repair Base in San Diego, California. Barney writes largely about the boredom of camp life, playing piano for an orchestra, and a visit to the San Diego Zoo.

Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 4
Correspondence
1944 January 29 - April 22English.
Scope and Contents

Three letters from Barney Harlan from January, February, and April, and a postcard from Glenwood Clark from February. Glenwood is stationed in New York City and is impressed by its size; Barney writes about how things are going back home, and little frustrations of military life.

Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 5
Correspondence
1944 May 19 - September 9English.
Scope and Contents

Three V-mail letters, two miniaturized and one full from Charles Haner from May, June, and September, a letter from Dick Murray from July, a V-mail miniature from Barney Harlan from August, and a letter from Elsie's brother, Pvt. Roger I. Comfort. Charles Harlan and Dick Murray are overseas in the European theater. Barney writes to Jeanette Comfort.

Mixed Materials Box: 1 folder: 6
Correspondence
1944 October 10 - December 30English.
Scope and Contents

Four letters from Barney Harlan, one from October and November and two from December, and one V-mail Christmas card from Charles Haner in November. Barney is stationed in the Admiralty Islands in the South Pacific, and writes about Christmas and Elsie's plans for college.

Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 7
Correspondence
1945 January 16 - May 20English.
Scope and Contents

Five letters: three from Charles Haner including two V-mail miniatures in December, January, and May, and one letter from Barney Harlan in January. The May 20 letter from Charles Haner mentions the end of the war in Europe. Roger Comfort appears to have been injured, but is recovering.

Mixed Materials Box: 1 folder: 8
Correspondence
1945 June 13 - October 28English.
Scope and Contents

Five items: a postcard from Clarkie (probably Glenwood Clark) from June, a letter each from Barney Harlan, Jeannie Comfort, and Charles Haner in July, and a letter from Charles Haner in August. Jeanette is at a military camp, and Charles is outside of Berlin.

Mixed Materials Box: 1 folder: 9
Correspondence
1948 January 21 - October 4English.
Scope and Contents

One letter from Barney Harlan from October 1945, three from Willie van der Linden in January, July, and September 1948, and one from Kenneth Kelly from October 1948. Willie is a high-school-aged pen pal in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 10
Correspondence
1948 November 3 - 1951 March 1English.
Scope and Contents

Three letters from Willie van der Linden in November 1948 and March and April 1949, and one from James Ewing, Jr in March 1951. Willie writes about Dutch culture and gifts Elsie has sent, and James encourages Elsie to be confident despite not being pretty.

Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 11
Correspondence
1951 March 13 - March 29English.
Scope and Contents

One letter from James "Jimmy" Ewing, Jr. in March and three from Donald "Don" Fickers, two to Elsie in March and one to Jeanette Comfort in April. Don is a friend of James's, whom James encouraged to write to Elsie. He expects to be sent to Korea soon.

Mixed Materials Box: 1 folder: 12
Correspondence
1951 May 22 - September 17English.
Scope and Contents

Four letters from Don Fickers, including one each to Elsie and Jeanette in May and one to Jeanette in August, and one from Richard T. Butts in September. Don grows increasingly depressed. Richard introduces himself as connected to a mutual friend named Eleanor. He is also stationed in Korea.

Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 13
Correspondence
1951 September - November 20English.
Scope and Contents

Five letters, one from Don Fickers to Jeanette in September, one each from Willie van den Linden and Richard Butts in October, and one from Ken Kelly in November. Richard writes about things he has seen in the war, and passing a test for a high school equivalent degree.

Mixed Materials Box: 1 folder: 14
Correspondence
1951 December 11 - 1952 January 19English.
Scope and Contents

Five letters, one probably from Ken Kelly (signature is unclear, no return address) in December 1951, one from Willie van der Linden in December 1951, and three from Richard Butts in January 1952. Ken is stationed in Trinidad. Dick has been injured but insists on returning to the front line; he also talks about his experiences with religion.

Mixed Materials Box: 1 folder: 15
Correspondence
1952 February 14 - September 29English.
Scope and Contents

Five letters, one from Richard Butts in February, three from Don Fickers to Jeannette Comfort, one in February and two in September, and one from Willie van der Linden in September. Don was reunited with Jimmy but Jimmy, but Jimmy appears to have been killed when a plane crashed into his ship.

Mixed Materials Box: 1 folder: 16
Correspondence
Undated English.
Scope and Contents

Miscellaneous and undated items. Includes loose small items, a letter from Willie van der Linden, a Christmas card from James R. Greatsinger, a greeting card with an illegible signature, and three loose letters from Barney Harlan. Also includes newspaper clippings, two empty envelopes, and a "Pointer" newsletter from US Naval Drydocks, Hunters Point, April 11, 1944.