Library Guides: World War I and World War II: Primary Sources at Western On This Topic

Suggested Resources

Suggested Resources from Archives & Special Collections

Below are some suggested collections that are available through Archives & Special Collections. These lists are not exhaustive so please contact us for more information, to request a consultation and/or to schedule a research appointment.

CPNWS

Center for Pacific Northwest Studies

Contact cpnws@wwu.edu or (360) 650-7534 | Archives Building

Barrett (Eldon) Papers
The Eldon Barrett Papers comprise biographical and personal papers, research, writings, and photographic materials documenting the life and career of a nationally known journalist, United Press International (UPI) writer and news bureau chief. The papers include publications and photographs documenting World War II history on the Aleutian Islands.
Center for Pacific Northwest Studies Miscellaneous Scrapbook Collection
The photographic scrapbooks document the family life of ordinary individuals and families and some of their travels. The collection also includes scrapbooks documenting fishing boats, passenger ships, battleships from WWI and WWII and Pacific American Fisheries facilities in Alaska and in Bellingham. It is possible that some of the images were taken or collected by Bert Huntoon and Galen Biery.
Druzea Club Records
The Druzea Club records consist of several scrapbooks highlighting the activities of the club from 1937-1968, including volunteer work during World War II in war service projects.
Edson (Lelah Jackson) Scrapbooks
Scrapbooks containing newspaper clippings documenting the December 7, 1941 bombing of Pearl Harbor and subsequent events through June 27, 1942.
Gabl (Franz X.) Papers
Collection documents Olympic skiing medalist Franz X. Gabl, including his experiences in the German army during World War II, where he served on the Russian Front from 1941-45.
Hall (Claude C.) Papers
The collection documents the experiences of Claude C. (Chester) Hall (1896-1977) when he worked as a civilian employee with the United States Army Corps of Engineers during World War II. Hall was employed with Seattle-based Pacific Huts, Inc., setting up pre-fabricated wooden structures that were used to house troops in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska during the war. The collection also includes some of Hall's World War I papers.
Hogg (James B.) Collection on the D-Day Invasion
The collection contains a typescript from aboard the USS Nevada during the D-Day invasion of Normandy from June 6, 1944 through June 18, 1944. The collection also includes two books about the United States Navy.
Hovde Family Papers
The Hovde Papers document the creative life of Pacific Northwest artist Jane Hamilton Hovde and her husband, Western Washington University professor and poet A.J. Hovde. The latter's papers include journals dating from 1942-1945 that are titled "War Years" and "War Notes."
McFarland (George and Anna) Papers
Letters written 1926-1931 WWI between Pearl McFarland & several U.S. Navy men; Correspondence between Hazel McFarland and (future husband) C.E. Priest 1930-1932. Discusses naval ships in Bellingham Bay, life in Bellingham & Seattle during the war.
McGowan Family Papers
The McGowan Family papers consist of letters primarily between Ella McDonald McGowan and Donald "Kirk" McGowan, dating from 1933 to 1944. Several of the letters were written during World War II while Kirk was serving in United States Army.
Nora B. Cummins Papers, 1936-1946.
The Nora B. Cummins papers document her participation in the Whatcom County Advisory Committee and the Consumer Interest Committee in Bellingham, Washington. The papers contain correspondence, administrative records, newspapers clippings, directives from the Office of Price Administration, and pamphlets related to matters of public relief, the price fixing system, and rationing during WWII.
Bellingham Centennial Oral History Project Records, 2003-2005
The Bellingham Centennial Oral History Project Records include a series of interviews conducted with long-time Bellingham residents and sought to document Bellingham from its beginnings to the present day getting citizens to reflect on their personal experiences and observations of significant local events.
Names of interviews relating to Bellingham during WWI and WWII are listed under the more information icon.

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Series I: Davenport, George; Roberts, Jim; Russell, Betty; Sternhagen, Nina and John; Watts, Margaret.
Series II: Tweit, Gordy.
Stimpson Family Papers
Collection of family papers generated by members of the Stimpson and Watts family, prominent members of the Bellingham community. The collection includes substantial correspondence from World War II. Access and use restrictions apply to this collection.
Thompson Family Papers
The Thompson Family papers document three generations of Thompson Family members, providing insights into life on the San Juan Islands during the first half of the twentieth century, as well as first hand accounts of family experience during World War II.
Tjomsland (Blanche Saunders) Papers
The collection contains the personal and professional papers of Blanche Saunders Tjomsland, a former Bellingham Public Library employee. Photographs in the collection document family, friends, and World War I soldiers, airplanes and scenes from France.
Washington State Oral/Aural History Program Interviews, 1974-1977
Microfiche transcripts of oral history interviews conducted as part of a bicentennial project by the Washington State Division of Archives and Records Management. The oral histories document the lives and experiences of African Americans and Filipinos in Washington State. Interview transcripts are indexed and organized by county name or by ethnic group.
Washington Women's Heritage Project Records (Alice Bloedel)
Early memories of World War Two, tensions between her parents about whether or not to become Nazi supporters, Gestapo, controversial marriages, work on Nazi farms in rural Germany, foster families, school memories, family relations and estrangement, and life in war-torn Germany, immigration, the U.S. Air Force, women’s independence.
Weaver (William) Research materials on Washington State
This is a collection of research materials relating to World War II, Skagit County's Bayview community, Washington State, and other topics. Materials include a number of oral history interviews and corresponding transcripts.
Whatcom County Chapter of the American National Red Cross Records
The Whatcom County Chapter of the American National Red Cross records document the establishment, goals and activities of this chapter founded in Bellingham, Washington, in 1917. The collection includes documentation of service projects during World War II as well as letters from nurses serving abroad.
World War II Carpetbagger Project Manuscript
This manuscript contains a military history of the United States Air Force's 492nd Bombardment Group. Also known as the Carpetbagger Project, the 492nd flew special operations to deliver supplies to resistance groups in enemy-occupied countries. The manuscript contains references to official military correspondence, journal entries and other personal accounts, and numerous photographs and copies of newspaper clippings.

Special Collections

Contact speccoll@wwu.edu or (360) 650-3193 | Wilson Library

Archival Collections:

Campus History Collection
This is a photograph collection documenting the history and life of Western Washington University. It includes photos from its formation to the present day.
Campus History Vertical Files
Special Collections houses a substantial set of vertical files on various topics related to Campus History. There are two folders specifically related to "student protests," and there are also files for each of the presidents which may include information about student movements during their administration. An online guide to the collection, including a detailed list of folders (alphabetical by subject), is available here.
Faculty and Staff Vertical Files
This collection contains biographical information, article offprints, ephemera, and other miscellaneous materials by or about individual members of the faculty and staff at Western Washington University. In addition to this collection of vertical files, Special Collections holds the archival materials of WWU faculty and administrators such as Kathryn Anderson, Charles Henry Fisher, and W.W. Haggard.

Publications:

Annual Catalog by Western Washington College of Education
Call Number: Archives & Special Collections—Wilson Library Building, Campus History Collection - LD5766 .W47

Course Catalogs 9/1/1942-6/30/1943 Western Washington College of Education, Bellingham, Washington, Wartime Offerings. Volumes for 1943/44-1946/47 updated by summer supplements in the interests of wartime conservation.
Bellingham's Japanese Residents Never Returned by Morris, Carol Teshima
Call Number: Archives & Special Collections—Wilson Library Building, Campus History Collection - F897.W57 W57 J68

Publication Date: 2000 April

Published in: Journal of the Whatcom County Historical Society, no. 1, April, 2000.
Breaking German Codes [videorecording] by Hilton, Peter John
Call Number: Archives & Special Collections—Wilson Library Building, Campus History Collection - Video - D810.C88 B74 2000

Publication Date: 2000

Reminiscences of Hilton's experiences working with a group of mathematicians during World War II at the British government code and cipher school at Bletchley Park to help break the German military command's Enigma code, among others. Hilton also talks about his association with Alan Turing.
Captain Bryan's Pacific War Atlas [cartographic material] Bryan, E. H. (Edwin Horace), 1898-1985.
Call Number: Archives & Special Collections—Wilson Library Building, Rare Book Collection - Oversize - G2860 .B7 1942

"Containing 75 detailed maps of Pacific areas and of the world, also complete index of 5000 place names."
Coral Comes High by Hunt, George Pinney, 1918-
Call Number: Archives & Special Collections—Wilson Library Building, Rare Book Collection - D769.37 1st .H8

An account of Company K, Third Battalion, First Marines, during Peleliu invasion.
Digital version also available.
The First Yale unit : a story of naval aviation, 1916-1919 by Paine, Ralph Delahaye, 1871-1925.
Call Number: Archives & Special Collections—Wilson Library Building, Rare Book Collection - D606 .P3

Digital version also available.
Globe and Commercial Advertiser - Final edition
Call Number: Archives & Special Collections—Wilson Library Building, Rare Book Collection - Extra Oversize - AN2 .G55

Features articles about the Champaign and Somme offensives of World War I, the arrival in Baltimore of a German submarine, and an outbreak of infantile paralysis in New York City.
Journal of the Whatcom Historical Society by Whatcom County Historical Society
Call Number: Archives & Special Collections—Wilson Library Building, Campus History Collection - F897.W57 J68

Publication Date: 2000 +

For example, see April 2004 Special Edition for undergraduate-authored articles re: Spanish Influenza in Bellingham, 1918-1919 (Melissa Mabee) and women workers in Bellingham during World War II (Robert Wayne Parker).
War in the Garden of Eden by Roosevelt, Kermit, 1889-1943.
Call Number: Archives & Special Collections—Wilson Library Building, Rare Book Collection - DS568.5 .R6 1920

Digital version also available.
The War of the Nations: portfolio in rotogravure etchings by New York : New York Times, Co., 1919.
Call Number: Archives & Special Collections—Wilson Library Building, Rare Book Collection - Oversize - D522 .W28 1919

Contains 1,398 rotogravure images with brief descriptive captions, broad organizational headings, and table of contents; 32 pictorial maps that describe military engagements throughout the war; and 3-page appendix that provides chronology, statistics, treaty excerpts, and highlights of wartime events.
The Western Front; Bone, Muirhead, Sir, 1876-1953.
Call Number: Archives & Special Collections—Wilson Library Building, Rare Book Collection - Oversize - NC1115 .B78

Pictorial work issued in 10 parts, December, 1916 to October, 1917; published also in 2 vols., with additional letterpress and indexes, the text by C.E. Montague.
Digital version also available.
With the Colors, from Whatcom, Skagit and San Juan Counties: an honor roll containing a pictorial record of the gallant and courageous men from Northwestern Washington, U.S.A., who served in the world war, 1917-1918-1919 by Jacobin, Louis
Call Number: Available at Archives & Special Collections--Special Collections Rare Book Collection D570.85.W3 J3

Publication Date: 1921

UARM

University Archives

Contact university.archives@wwu.edu or (360) 650-3124 | Archives Building

The University Archives is the sole, official repository for the records of WWU (see university policy POL-U4910.01) and houses more than 3000 linear feet of archival material documenting the history of Western from 1895 to the present. This includes records in all formats (bound volumes, loose paper, photographic, audiovisual, digital) and from all major campus units including the Board of Trustees, President, Vice Presidents, Colleges, Academic Programs, Administrative/business units, and Associated Students—even Western Libraries.

Contact UARM to access these and other holdings:

Faculty Clubs and Activities 1/1/1945-12/30/1954 War Orphans Correspondence
Veterans Services 1/1/1945-12/31/1945 Veterans

Includes information of former students killed/missing in action in WWII and on Dedication of Memorial Organ

Veterans Services 1/1/1944-12/31/1958 Veterans Assistance Programs

Searching Archival and Primary Resources at Western

Want to search for content on your own? The following online platforms are available for all researchers (note that not all content is available digitally -- contact us for more information about how to access collection materials in person).

Archives West

Archives West Database

MABEL

Multimedia Archives Based Electronic Library

Associated Students of WWU Board Minutes
Digital reproductions of the official minutes of the Associated Students Board of Directors and predecessor bodies. In process - additional content is added regularly.
Board of Trustees of WWU Meeting Minutes
Digitized copies of the official minutes and related records of the Board of Trustees of Western Washington University. This collection includes records from the Board's first meeting in 1895 up to the current year, and provides a continuous record of governance of Western Washington University since its inception.
Klipsun Yearbook
The Klipsun yearbook was published almost continuously from 1913 to 1970. The Klipsun yearbooks chronicle each academic year through words and imagery, showcasing students, faculty, athletic, club and other special events. They provide an illustrated history of the campus, its students, faculty and administrators including the Training School (later the Campus Elementary School).
Western Front Historical Collection
From the Normal Messenger to the Northwest Viking to the WWCollegian to the Western Front (and other title variants in between), the student paper has chronicled the social, athletic, academic, and creative life of the institution throughout its trajectory from teacher-training college to comprehensive regional university.

Campus History

Select Publications on Campus History

Researchers may also find the following publications useful:

A brief history of Western Washington State College by Office of Institutional Research, Western Washington State College.
Publication Date: 1972
The First fifty years. by Western Washington State College.
Publication Date: 1949
Perspectives on excellence : a century of teaching and learning at Western Washington University by Roland L. De Lorme, editor, with Steven W. Inge.
Publication Date: 2000
Recollections of Herbert R. Hearsey : an autobiographical account by Hearsey, Herbert R., 1910-
Publication Date: 2003
Western at 75 by Hicks, Arthur C.
Call Number: LD5773.H4

Publication Date: 1974

This is available in both Special Collections, WL677, and for check-out in the Circulating Collection, Wilson 4W.
Western Washington University: One Hundred Years. by Schofield, Phil
Call Number: LD5773.S39 1999

Publication Date: 1999

This is available in both Special Collections, WL677, and for check-out in the Circulating Collection, Wilson 2E-Oversize. It's a nice coffee table book but it provides background and features photos of protests.
WWU! as it was by Don Brown, Jerry Flora, Harvey Gelder, George Lamb, David Marsh, Al Nickelson, Irwin Slesnick, Stewart Van Wingerden, Loren Webb.