Admiral F. A. Wendt
Date: June 30, 1971
This is an official Navy photograph of Admiral F. A. Wendt, Commander-in-Chief, U. S. Naval Forces, Europe, June 30, 1971. He was a grandson of Peter Thowe II and nephew of August Thowe of Alma, Kansas.

Admiral John E. Gingrich's hat
Creator: Unt Rankin Leather Company
Date: between 1945 and 1947
This U.S. Navy full dress bicorne hat belonged to Admiral John Edward Gingrich (1897-1960). Gingrich was born in Dodge City, Kansas. He attended the University of Kansas and graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1919. As Captain of the cruiser Pittsburgh in 1945, he received a silver star for assisting the crippled aircraft carrier Franklin. He also received a Legion of Merit and gold star for safely sailing his cruiser following severe typhoon damage in June 1945. Gingrich promoted to Rear Admiral late in 1945. In 1947, he became the first director of the Division of Security and Intelligence at the Atomic Energy Commission. Gingrich commanded the Blockade and Escort Force in 1952, for which he received the Distinguished Service Medal. He retired in 1954 with the rank of four-star Admiral. He died in New York City in 1960.

Alice Sudlow Ash
Creator: Lenak Studios
Date: 1944
This is a photograph of Alice Sudlow Ash enlisted in the WAVE: Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service for the U.S. Navy in 1943 and served until 1945. In an Interview conducted by Suzette McCord-Rogers on Nov 3, 2007, Ash talked about military experiences in the Second World War. She was sent to Bronx, New York, for basic training and then to Oklahoma to attend aviation mechanic school. She served the rest of her enlistment in Jacksonville, Florida, repairing airplane engines. She was born in Holton in 1924 and graduated from Holton High School in 1942. After she married Don Ash, she lived in Circleville, Kansas. A transcript of the interview is available at http://www.kansasmemory.org/item/218588.

Alice Sudlow Ash video interview on experiences in World War II (transcript)
Creator: Ash, Alice Sudlow
Date: November 3, 2007
Alice Sudlow enlisted in the WAVE: Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (U.S. Navy) in 1943 and served until 1945. Interviewed by Suzette McCord-Rogers on Nov 3, 2007, Ash talked about military experiences in the Second World War. She was sent to Bronx, New York, for basic training and then to Oklahoma to attend aviation mechanic school. She served the rest of her enlistment in Jacksonville, Florida, repairing airplane engines. She was born in Holton in 1924 and graduated from Holton High School in 1942. After she married Don Ash, she lived in Circleville, Kansas. The 2005 Kansas Legislature passed a bill funding the WWII Veterans Oral History grant program. This transcript is from one of the community institutions receiving grants. The transcript of the interview is presented here; the original video copy of the interview is available through the Doniphan County Historical Society (Troy) and through the Kansas State Historical Society.

Allen Trachsel, World War I soldier
Creator: Trachsel, Allen
Date: 1918
Around 1919, the Kansas State Historical Society and the American Legion solicited biographical information from returning veterans (primarily members of the 35th and 89th infantry divisions) and the families of those who died in service, notably from the Gold Star Mothers. Each veteran or family member was asked to provide letters, photographs, a biography, and military records. This file contains information on Allen Trachsel, Navy. Allen died of influenza on September 19, 1918 while in Chelsea, Massachusetts.

American flag
Creator: United States. Navy
Date: between 1940 and 1942
Wool forty-eight star U.S. flag. Appliqued stars. National Ensign from the USS Ralph Talbot, a destroyer in the U.S. Navy fleet. The Talbot was anchored at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, when the Japanese attacked, but made it out of the area with no damage or casualties. The Talbot was later involved in the Battle of the Marshalls and Gilberts in February of 1942 and the Battle of Wake and Marcus Islands in March of 1942. The flag was the USS Ralph Talbot's streaming colors, flying behind the smokestacks when the ship was underway. It was flown on the Talbot as it steamed out of Pearl Harbor. Sharitt Baker acquired the flag while serving on the USS Ralph Talbot during the war. Baker was born in Topeka in 1917 and enlisted in the Navy in 1938. He was assigned to the Talbot as a Third Class Petty Officer in 1939 or 1940. The flag was exchanged for a new one by the Quartermaster just before dawn on February 1, 1942, the morning of the raids on the Marshall and Gilbert Islands. While it was standard procedure to burn a flag once it was retired, Baker received tacit permission from the Quartermaster to keep the flag. While still on the Talbot, Baker stored the flag under his mattress to keep it flat.

Arthur Lamb video interview on experiences in World War II (transcript)
Creator: Lamb, Arthur W.
Date: September 27, 2007
Arthur Lamb enlisted in the Navy in 1942 and served until 1946 in the Amphibians. Interviewed by Pattie Johnston on September 27, 2007, Lamb talked about military experiences in the Second World War. The 2005 Kansas Legislature passed a bill funding the WWII Veterans Oral History grant program. This transcript is from one of the community institutions receiving grants. The transcript of the interview is presented here; the original video copy of the interview is available through the Watkins Community Museum of History (Lawrence) and through the Kansas State Historical Society.

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company depot, Newton, Kansas
Creator: Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway Company
Date: between 1939 and 1945
This photographs shows sailors at the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company depot at Newton, Kansas. The Santa Fe California Limited is visible in the photograph.

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company depot, Newton, Kansas
Creator: Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway Company
Date: between 1939 and 1945
This photograph shows a USO hostess greeting sailors at the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company depot in Newton, Kansas.

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company's passenger terminal, Los Angeles, California
Creator: Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway Company
Date: Between 1939 and 1945
This black and white photograph shows service men playing cards and pinball at a USO room in the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company's passenger terminal in Los Angeles, California. Also visible are art posters on the walls, a woman seated at a desk with an American flag, and a woman offering a basket of loose cigarettes and stick matches to one of the card players.

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company's Union Station, Los Angeles, California
Date: Between 1940 and 1945
This photograph shows U.S. sailors walking down a ramp at the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company's Union Station in Los Angeles, California. Military trains are visible in the background.

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company train, Los Angeles, California
Creator: Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway Company
Date: Between 1939 and 1945
This black and white photograph shows sailors walking down a passenger ramp at the Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal after arriving on an Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company train.

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company train, Los Angeles, California
Creator: Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway Company
Date: Between 1939 and 1945
This black and white photograph shows three columns of Navy recruits marching across a patio en route to an Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company train at the Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal.

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe RailwayCompany train, Los Angeles Union terminal
Creator: Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway Company
Date: between 1939 and 1945
This black and white photograph shows Navy recruits boarding an Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company train at the Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal.

Attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
Creator: Joint Intelligence Center, Pacific Ocean Areas
Date: December 7, 1941
These seventeen photographs shows the bombing and destruction at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The surprise attack by Japanese aircraft brought the United States into World War II. The attack demolished two U.S. Navy battleships, one mine layer, two destroyers, 188 aircraft, and killed 2,388 and wounded 1,178 personnel. Damaged warships included three cruisers, a destroyer, and six battleships. The Japanese losses were minimal.

Baseball game, Kansas City, Kansas
Creator: United States. Works Progress Administration
Date: Between 1935 and 1943
these women serving soft drinks at a baseball game in Kansas City, Kansas. The Naval Air Base was one of the teams playing baseball, and the photo shows baseball players and men in Navy uniforms. This activity was part of the Works Progress Administration.

Baseball game, Kansas City, Kansas
Creator: United States. Works Progress Administration
Date: Between 1935 and 1943
This a a photograph of a baseball game between the Army and Navy at Kensington Park, Kansas City, Kansas. This activity part of the Works Progress Administration.

Baseball game, Kansas City, Kansas
Creator: United States. Works Progress Administration
Date: Between 1935 and 1943
This baseball game is at the Naval Air Base, Kansas City, Kansas. This activity was part of the Works Progress Administration.

Beechcraft T-34, Naval Air Station, Hutchinson, Kansas
Date: September 12, 1954
This official U.S. Navy photograph shows a Beechcraft T-34 aircraft, in front of the operation tower, following its flying demonstration for the Navy Relief, Kansas Centennial Air Show, at the Hutchinson Naval Air Station, in Hutchinson, Kansas.

Bookmobile
Creator: United States. Works Progress Administration
Date: Between 1935 and 1943
Military and civilians at a United States Naval base looking at books from a bookmobile, part of the Works Progress Administration's library services program.

Bookmobile, Fairfax, Kansas City, Kansas
Date: Between 1935 and 1943
Sailors and civilians looking at books from a bookmobile, part of the Works Progress Administration, library services program, Fairfax, Kansas City, Kansas.

Bookmobile, Kansas City, Kansas
Creator: United States. Works Progress Administration
Date: Between 1935 and 1943
Civilians and members of the military at a bookmobile, Fairfax, Kansas City, Kansas. The bookmobile was part of the Works Progress Administration's library services program.

Cecil Craig and David Prickett
Date: 1943
A photograph of Cecil Craig, a neighbor, with David Prickett in Alta Vista, Kansas. David Prickett is shown wearing a Navy uniform.

Cecil Stecher video interview on experiences in World War II (transcript)
Creator: Stecher, Cecil L.
Date: June 12, 2007
Cecil Stecher enlisted in the Navy in 1943 and served until 1946. He was a Navy Air cadet and trained as a torpedo bomber. He was born June 14, 1925, near Baldwin, Kansas. He attended grade school at Spring Creek and Prairie City and graduated from Baldwin High School. He worked at the Sunflower Ordinance Works in DeSoto before joining the Navy. Interviewed by Deborah Pye on Jun 12, 2007, Stecher talked about military experiences in the Second World War. The 2005 Kansas Legislature passed a bill funding the WWII Veterans Oral History grant program. This transcript is from one of the community institutions receiving grants. The transcript of the interview is presented here; the original video copy of the interview is available through the Watkins Community Museum of History (Lawrence) and through the Kansas State Historical Society.

Charles "Buddy" Rogers
Date: Between 1920 and 1930
A portrait of Charles "Buddy" Rogers, 1904-1999, actor and jazz musician. Rogers was born in Olathe, Kansas and began his acting career in the mid-1920s. In his most remembered film, he starred opposite Clara Bow in the 1927 Academy Award winning picture "Wings." The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences honored Rogers in 1985 with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.