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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: 14th Infantry Regiment, 71st Infantry Division
  • Location of Service: Texas; Colorado; California; Georgia; Panama; France; Germany; Austria
  • Highest Rank: Captain

View full service history

"...a beer, pack of cigarettes, and three candy bars..."

Earle kept up a lengthy correspondence with his mother, grandmother and other members of his family. He was proud of operating 20 stores, 20 post offices, 12 night clubs, 6 movies, 13 orchestras, 5 gyms, 5 red cross clubs, 3 hotels, 1 ski school, 1 cable car, a bus line, a bank, and a newspaper when he was posted in Germany in 1945. Letters dated earlier than that already point to his native ability as an entrepreneur. He felt it was the Special Services Officer's duty to please the G.I. more than the regimental commander.

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[ Photo Album ]

More Resources

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[ Plan for Special Service in Combat [03/16/45] ]
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[ Scrapbook: "WWII Life in the Infantry 1942-1946" ]
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[ Earle, John W. Letter To Mother [5/1/43] ]
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[ Earle, John W. Letter To Mother [5/5/43] ]
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[ Earle, John W. Letter To Mother [3/5/44] ]
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[ Letter to Mother, Grandma, et al [03/25/44] ]

Show more resources (10)

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[ Earle, John W. Letter To Mother [3/1/45] ]
View 4 images in sequence.
[ Earle, John W. Letter To Mother [3/9/45] ]
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[ John Earle Post Card From Bayreuth Front ]
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[ John Earle Post Card From Altheim Front ]
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[ Earle, John W. Letter To The Gang [7/8/45] ]
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[ Earle, John W. Letter To Mother [7/8/45] ]
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[ Letter to Mother, Grandma, et al [07/15/45] ]
View 2 images in sequence.
[ Earle, John W. Letter To Mother [7/16/45] ]
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[ Earle, John W. Letter To Mother [8/26/45] ]
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[ Earle, John W. Letter To All [8/26/45] ]

About this Item

Title

  • John Walter Earle Collection

Names

  • Earle, John Walter
  • Earle, John

State of Birth

  • NY

Home State

  • CA

Headings

  • -  Earle, John Walter
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Repository

  • Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: 14th Infantry Regiment, 71st Infantry Division
    • Location of Service: Texas; Colorado; California; Georgia; Panama; France; Germany; Austria
    • Highest Rank: Captain
    • Dates of Service: 1942-1946
    • Military Status: Veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran arranged and set up dances, shows, supply and mail distribution, and other activities for GI's in Europe.

Materials

  • Manuscript: Military papers (orders, personnel/201 files, etc) [ item] -- (collected 1945 - 1946)
  • Manuscript: Unit histories [3 items] -- (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Correspondence [14 items] -- (collected 1943 - 1946)
  • Manuscript: Scrapbooks [4 items] -- (collected unknown)
  • Photograph: Mixed (Multiple types of photographs) [9 items] -- (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Clippings [6 items] -- (collected unknown)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/2204

Cite as

  • John Walter Earle Collection (AFC/2001/001/2204), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

Using VHP Material in Publication or Exhibition

The Veterans History Project (VHP) at the Library of Congress collects, preserves and makes accessible the firsthand recollections of U.S. military veterans who served from World War I through more recent conflicts and peacekeeping missions, so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand what they saw, did and felt during their service. The Veterans History Project Collection includes oral histories along with documentary materials such as original letters, diaries, photographs, and memoirs.

Veterans and interviewers contribute these materials to the Library for scholarly and educational purposes, retaining any copyright they may hold. Therefore, permission must be obtained before using the interview or other materials in exhibition or publication. Researchers or others who would like to make further use of these materials should contact the Veterans History Project for assistance.

As a publicly supported institution, the Library generally does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot give or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute material in its collections. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item from the Library’s collections and for securing any necessary permissions rests with persons desiring to use the item.

Please contact us with questions.

Obtaining Copies of VHP Materials

In order for VHP materials to be duplicated, we must receive written permission from the interviewee for you to obtain a copy of the recording unless the proposed use is limited to personal use, research, or other uses permissible by copyright law. If the interviewee is deceased, their next-of-kin may grant written permission.

Please contact VHP for assistance if you need to contact a veteran for permission to use their materials in exhibition or publication, or if you have received permission from the veteran and need access to high-resolution copies of VHP collection materials.

Citing VHP Materials

Please use the following formats when citing Veterans History Project materials (substituting the appropriate name and collection ID number).

Materials as a whole:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Manuscript material:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Memoirs (MS02), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Transcript (MS04), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Correspondence (MS01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Recording:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Audio recording (SR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Video recording (MV01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Photograph:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Photographs (PH01), photographer unknown, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Photographs (PH03-PH14), Ralph Williams photographer, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Computer file:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Computer file (CF01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Artifact:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Artifact (AR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Earle, John Walter, and John Earle. John Walter Earle Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.02204/.

APA citation style:

Earle, J. W. & Earle, J. (1942) John Walter Earle Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.02204/.

MLA citation style:

Earle, John Walter, and John Earle. John Walter Earle Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.02204/>.