State Historical Society of Iowa

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Record1 of 1

Title:
  • Mitchell Edgerly papers, 1943-1946.
Summary note:
  • This collection contains Edgerly's World War II letters (September 1943-March 1946) which were primarily sent to his parents Mr. and Mrs. William Edgerly (Central City, IA) and his sister and brother-in-law Daisy and Raymond Sires (Tama, IA). Also included in the correspondence series are letters from Edgerly's war bride Cecile to her in-laws, letters from Daisy to her parents, and a few letters written by Pfc. R.M. Cornwell who was with the 11th Regiment, U.S. Marines. In addition to wartime correspondence, this collection contains some of Mitchell Edgerly's military documents & ephemera (including a chronological record of the Shangri-La's activities he prepared), photographs, and is service medals and ribbons.
Source of Acquisition:
  • Donated by Christine E. Young, 2010.
Biographical/Historical note:
  • During World War II Mitchell Edgerly of Central City (Linn County), Iowa entered the V-5 aviation cadet program of the U.S. Navy in September 1943 and began technical training at the Naval Reserve Center at Northfield, Minnesota. When the V-5 program was discontinued, he resumed training at the U.S. Naval Training Station at Great Lakes, Illinois and at the Naval Air Technical Training Centers at Memphis, Tennessee and New Orleans, Louisiana. From approximately February to June of 1944 he was stationed with Argus Unit 28 at San Francisco, California--during which time he sustained some injuries in a truck accident. Upon reaching the U.S. Naval Training Station at Newport, Rhode Island he was assigned to the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Shangri-La (CVS-38) with the rank of Ships Serviceman Laundry 3rd Class. This carrier participated in several campaigns in the World War II Pacific Theater of Operations during 1945 with its aircraft launching significant strikes against the Japanese at Okino Daito Jima, Kyushu, and Tokyo. Mitchell Edgerly was discharged from the service in December 1945. While he was at the U.S. Naval Training Station in Newport, Rhode Island in the summer of 1944 he met his future wife Cecile, a French Canadian whose family had immigrated to the United States.
Subject(s):
Author:
Format:
  • 1 linear ft. (2 containers)
MARC Values:

State Historical Society of Iowa

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