World War, 1939-1945

Abstract Arthur F. Shaw was born to Solomon Benjamin Shaw and Etta Salder Shaw in 1884. His papers cover almost a sixty year span of his life, from letters he wrote as a boy and young adult to notes he made as a city commissioner and a superior court judge. Shaw served in both world wars and was a member of the American Legion and the Grand Encampment I.O.O.F. of Michigan. Proceedings from both of these organizations can be found in this collection. Shaw’s mother, Etta Sadler Shaw, was a national...

Abstract The Arthur J. Weber, Jr. papers cover a thirty year period in the life of Weber (1922-1979), primarily through documents related to his military experience. As such, many of the items in the collection document locations other than Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he lived much of his life. Most of the material is related to his World War II years, including several newspapers, magazines, news clippings, postcards and personal photographs from that era. Other military materials contained in the...

Abstract The Beineman/McSorley papers are comprised mostly of letters written between husband and wife, John & Alta (Beineman) McSorley, during the United States' involvement in World War II. John enlisted in the United States Army in March 1943 and was discharged in October 1945. He went abroad during the later part of the war, spending at least some time in Paris and the French countryside. The couple wrote letters nearly every day. Most of Alta's letters relate to life at home in Grand Rapids,...

Abstract Frank J. Malloy and DeEscott “Jack” Green were international business acquaintances who later became friends, as evidenced by this small collection of letters dating from 1939 to 1956. Jack Green (1888–1962) was born in Ionia, Michigan, and worked for American Seating, primarily in the company’s New York offices. During the Second World War, he served as a metals inspector for the War Production Board. Frank Malloy, born in Britain in 1916, later became an American citizen.Only...

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During World War II, the B29 Bomber airplanes and the 120 mm AA gun mounts were built at the General Motors Stamping Division of Fisher Body in Grand Rapids. This collection includes manufacturing records of these two products.

Abstract Mabel Gork Gmelich died from a post-delivery infection in 1930, leaving her newborn Marilyn, her daughter Lezette, and her husband, Herman Gmelich, alone. Mabel and Herman, both born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, were married there in 1925. This collection was anonymously donated to the Grand Rapids Public Library in July 2025. It contains a 1918 yearbook of Camp Custer, Michigan—where Herman Gmelich served as a butcher during World War I—and Mabel Gork’s 1915 Union High School yearbook, which...

Abstract This collection is comprised of lists of soldiers in various military branches from the Grand Rapids, Michigan area thought to be missing or confirmed deceased between December 7 of 1941 and December 7 of 1945 while fighting in World War II. These lists represent the efforts of a small group of women (namely, Anna S. Sutton (1894-1987)) to accurately represent local casualties in order to add them to a new war memorial in Grand Rapids. This collection could be used to investigate the names...

Abstract This is a devised collection which brings together several accessions of materials related to World War II. Included are documents, letters, images and memories of those from the Grand Rapids and Kent County area who served during World War II. Other war memorabilia, such as ration books or newspaper clippings on the War at home, are also included. The collection also includes cards, collected by the Kent County Historical Commission, with information on individuals from Kent County who...

Abstract Henrietta DeLoof was the editor of the Rapid Wheeler, published by the Rapids-Standard Company in Grand Rapids, Michigan (later known as Rapistan, then Dematic). This collection includes issues from 1943 to 1954. The early issues include information on employees who served in World War II. The publication also provides information on the recreation and families of the employees. Also included are Grand Rapids School of Furniture Designing lessons from the early 1900s and a few other items of...

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The Judge Douglas Woodruff Hillman papers is a collection on one of Grand Rapids' prominent citizens during the second half of the twentieth century. A Second World War veteran, lawyer, and judge, Douglas Hillman (1922-2007) was also a charting member of the Grand Rapids Human Relations Commission. With its numerous photographs and war-time correspondence, this collection is particularly useful for those wanting to learn more about Judge Hillman's military service and post-war home life.