Converted to EAD3 : Encoded Archival Description (EAD), Version 3 : Release: 1.1.1 : Release Date: 2019-12-16. Validating against latest version of schema.
Contact information: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.afc/vhp.contact
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/2017655342
In English.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
Arranged into one series: Manuscripts. Correspondence from Graham is arranged by date. Materials from Graham's mother and family are arranged by creator.
Accessioned, 2012.
Duplication of collection materials may be restricted.
Collection is open for research; access restrictions apply. To request collection materials, please contact the Veterans History Project at http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.afc/vhp.contact
Harold Benjamin Graham Collection (AFC/2001/001/86217), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
Harold Benjamin Graham was born on July 7, 1899, in Spring Valley, New York.
Graham enlisted in the United States Army as a 16-year old. He was first assigned to
Orr’s Mills, New York, before moving to West Point, New York. Known as
Following his discharge, Graham returned to Spring Valley, New York. He married his wife, Janet, in 1928. Graham and his family lived in New York City, where he worked as a lineman for a telephone company. With the outbreak of World War II, Graham and his wife, Janet, were involved with a volunteer civilian patron in New York City. Harold Benjamin Graham died in 1948.
The Harold Benjamin Collection Graham collection documents Graham’s United States Army service during World War I. The collection consists of correspondence.
A vast majority of the materials in the collection are letters sent by Graham to his mother from 1917-1920. Other recipients include his father and sister. Topics covered include camaraderie with his fellow servicemen; aspects of his service experience including guard duty and United States-Mexico border problems; travel in the areas in which he is stationed; ways in which he keeps busy during down time; his attempts to receive furloughs and discharges; post-discharge employment plans; instructions for his family for taking care of his car; his love life, and his impressions of Texas and its people. One additional letter is from Graham’s mother, addressed to her grandchild, allocating Graham’s World War I letters to his children. Additionally, the final folder contains summaries and some transcriptions of Graham’s letters. These items were created and compiled by Graham’s descendants.
MS01: 105 letters written between 1917 and 1920 from Harold Graham to his mother, father, and sister who lived in Spring Valley, New York. Topics covered include: camaraderie with his fellow servicemen; aspects of his service experience including guard duty and United States-Mexico border problems; travel in the areas in which he is stationed; ways in which he keeps busy during down time; his attempts to receive furloughs and discharges; post-discharge employment plans; instructions for his family for taking care of his car; his love life, and his impressions of Texas and its people.
MS01 continued
MS02: One letter written on 12/25/1950 from Mrs. Graham to her grandchild passing on her son's letters from World War I.
MS03: Additional information and selected excerpts from correspondence chosen by donor to highlight portions of interesting letters and provide additional explanation.