Opray Family Papers

The Opray Family Papers is comprised of World War I and World War II era materials, including a scrapbook, newsletters and newspapers, and assorted ephemera.

The bulk of the collection is related to World War II, primarily consisting of a scrapbook. The contents were likely collected by Joe Opray, a member of the 635th Tank Destroyer Battalion, during his 1942-1945 service. The scrapbook includes photographic postcards of Camp Hood (Texas), where Opray trained, and other locations such as Belgium, France, and England, as well as clippings and informational leaflets. The scrapbook has several pages with envelopes glued on, which are captioned as holding assorted foreign paper currency, including from France. There is also paper currency from the Philippines, Nicaragua, and Mexico. Many of the envelopes are blank and none hold coin, though they are captioned as such. Additionally, there is Nazi paraphernalia, including German military patches, armbands (one of which has a swastika on it), and a mine marker flag.

The scrapbook also holds military records, including General Orders No. 20, which is a proclamation of the war's end, and a May 29, 1945 commendation from Colonel John C. MacDonald to the 635th Tank Battalion regarding their service during the war. Additionally, there are fifteen (15) black-and-white photographs that depict a prison camp in New Ulm, Germany, and unidentified people in Lombach and Offenbacher, Austria.

Additionally, there are nineteen (19) issues of the Stars and Stripes newspaper, issued from June 12, 1944 to April 23, 1945. The newspapers cover general World War II news and events. Some issues are incomplete. There is also a small amount of ephemera, including four (4) World War II era maps and a poem, "A Hitch in Hell..." written by Joe Opray in March 1943.

At the end of the collection are several 1919 issues of The Dirigible, a newsletter that was printed aboard the USS Zeppelin, a large passenger liner that transported members of the American Expeditionary Forces back home after the conclusion of World War I.

Digitized Materials: Only the scrapbook, The Dirigible newsletters, and assorted ephemera have been digitized from this collection.

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