Frank C. Leigh World War II Collection

The Frank C. Leigh World War II Collection focuses on Leigh’s time with the U.S. Navy during World War II. The collection is arranged with the military-related items coming first, followed by personal items, and then general ephemera.

There are 28 photographs present, including three oversize photographs, and one oversize photograph that is mounted and annotated. The photographs in the collection show Leigh, fellow servicemen, aircraft, and the USS Chenango. Many of the photographs show Leigh with his signalman paddles.

Military items in the collection include Leigh’s identity cards, military records, military publication The Eaglet with his personal annotations, and ephemera. The military ephemera includes menus, certificates, and a guide to aircraft landing signals. There are three oversize fabric maps produced by NACI. Two of the maps are double-sided navigational charts, one showing the Hawaiian, Palmyra, and Christmas Islands, and one showing Ellice and Gilbert Island. The third map is a current map for the Marshall Islands. All three undated and labeled as “restricted.”

There is a personal log book in the collection that Leigh used to track his travels and work assignments, but the log was not used in an official capacity. The newspaper clippings announce his enlistment and his engagement. The personal correspondence contains letters and telegrams sent to family members while Leigh was serving in the Navy. Non-military ephemera consists of napkins and advertisements for bars and restaurants.

Digitized Materials: The majority of this collection has been digitized. Items not digitized include copies of The Eaglet, the clippings, and some ephemera items.

Please note that materials on TMOF: Digital Collections are presented as historical objects and are unaltered and uncensored. See our Disclaimers and Policies page for more information.