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/2017655343
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 three series: Computer File, Manuscripts and Photographs. Materials are arranged alphabetically by type of record.
Accessioned, 2011.
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
Selected items from the LeRoy Feay Thompson collection are available on the Library of Congress web site at http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.afc/eadvhp.vh017019.01.
LeRoy Feay Thompson Collection (AFC/2001/001/79821), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
LeRoy Feay Thompson was born on June 4, 1894, in Elkhart, Indiana. His parents were Arthur Robert Thompson and Blanche Houston Creighton.
At the age of 23, Thompson enlisted in the United States Army, reporting to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, for training camp in late May 1918. Along with vaccinations and movie lectures, Thompson trained as a radio operator for the Signal Corps. This consisted of training in the field and in trenches, and examinations on associated radio operations. In July 1918, he was assigned to Company F, 7th Depot Battalion. In his free time, Thompson visited Kansas City, Missouri, on leave with fellow soldiers. Thompson was moved to Little Silver, New Jersey, in late July or early August. He embarked from New Jersey and arrived in France in early September. In October 1918, Thompson was assigned to Company A, 303rd Field Signal Battalion, 78th Division, as a radio operator. Other duties included hiking, chopping wood, formation practice, and guard duty. He was stationed in Époisses, France, for a large portion of his overseas service with frequent travels to Semur and Pisy. During this time, Thompson's older brother, Glenn Stanley Thompson, was stationed in Bourges, Belgium. They communicated through the telephone while in active service. Thompson was discharged in mid-1919 as a Private.
Following his service, Thompson returned to Chicago, where his parents lived, and married Dorothy Mae Wren, in 1921. Dorothy died in 1983. LeRoy Feay Thompson died October 12, 1996, at the age of 102.
The LeRoy Feay Thompson collection documents the veteran’s United States Army service during World War I. Spanning 1918-2011, the collection includes correspondence, printed matter, transcripts, digital prints and an optical disc.
The bulk of the collection consists of 48 letters from Thompson to his
parents dating 1918-1919. Two additional letters from Blanche Fowler and Sue Campbell to
Thompson’s mother are also included. Topics covered include cleanliness of training
camp; food in the military; buying a life insurance policy; duties of Signal Corps;
vaccinations; mistaken discharge; receiving Armour Comfort Box; trench radio training;
movie lectures; personal finances; semaphore; trip to Washington, DC; gender relations;
preparing to deploy overseas; washing socks and underwear; price of cigarettes in
Europe; dividends from stocks; staying in hay loft; New Year’s Eve celebration in
Europe; cooties; strong cheese in Europe; Époisses, France; Y.M.C.A.; Flavigny
Radio School; getting deloused; receiving Christmas presents; eggs; descriptions of
radio operations; magazines and books from Red Cross; drawing; and a
Thompson also acquired 29 postcards of French towns, landscapes, statues, and chateaus. Postcards document Époisses, France; Semur, France; the Vercingétorix monument; Château de Chastellux; Pierre-Perthuis, France; Château de Bourbilly; and various other scenes of early 20th century French communes and towns. The collection also includes transcriptions of the 50 letters, which were compiled and edited by Thompson's grandchild. A biographical note regarding Thompson’s parents and brother, Glenn, who also served during World War I, is located at the beginning of the transcriptions. Digital images include two photographs, one of an unidentified man kneeling and another with two men on a porch swing. The optical disc contains electronic files of the transcriptions, digital prints and printed matter.
Catalog Record: http://lccn.loc.gov/2017655343
Digital content available
MS01: 48 letters written from the veteran to his parents between 1918 and 1919; 2 letters from Blanche Fowler and Sue Campbell, friends of the veteran, to veteran's mother. Topics covered include cleanliness of training camp; food in the military; buying life insurance policy; duties of the Signal Corps; vaccinations; mistaken discharge; receiving Armour Comfort Box; trench radio training; movie lectures; personal finances; semaphore; trip to Washington, DC; gender relations; preparing to deploy overseas; washing socks and underwear; price of cigarettes in Europe; dividends from stocks; staying in hay loft; New Year’s Eve celebration in Europe; "cooties"; strong cheese in Europe; Époisses, France; Y.M.C.A.; Flavigny Radio School; getting deloused; receiving Christmas presents; eggs; descriptions of radio operations; magazines and books from Red Cross; drawing; and a New York Herald article about the American Expeditionary Force. Additionally, numerous letters have references to fellow soldiers, both at Fort Leavenworth and in France.
Digital content available
MS02: Postcards from various European locations. Postcards document Époisses, France; Semur, France; the Vercingétorix monument; Château de Chastellux; Pierre-Perthuis, France; Château de Bourbilly; and various other scenes of early 20th century French communes and towns.
Digital content available
MS03: Transcript of 50 letters written during veteran' s service during World War I.
PH01: Man kneeling.
PH02: Two men on porch swing.
Digital content available
PH03: Thompson in uniform.
CF01: Contains transcript (MS03) in MS Word format; printed matter (MS02) in JPEG and PDF format; photographs (PH01-PH02) in JPEG format.
CF02: Contains photograph (PH03) in JPEG format.