Download Joseph M. Fisher World War II scrapbook and photographs MSS.264

Joseph M. Fisher World War
II scrapbook and photographs
MSS.264
This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit
November 05, 2013
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Ball State University Archives and Special Collections
Alexander M. Bracken Library
2000 W. University Avenue
Muncie, Indiana, 47306
765-285-5078
[email protected]
Joseph M. Fisher World War II scrapbook and photographs MSS.264
Table of Contents
Summary Information ................................................................................................................................. 3
Biographical Note.......................................................................................................................................... 4
Scope and Contents....................................................................................................................................... 4
Arrangement...................................................................................................................................................5
Administrative Information .........................................................................................................................5
Controlled Access Headings..........................................................................................................................6
Collection Inventory...................................................................................................................................... 8
Series 1: Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1942-1945.........................................................................8
Series 2: Joseph M. Fisher newspaper clippings and printed ephemera, ca. 1940s.............................. 10
Series 4: Joseph M. Fisher photograph albums, 1942-1945................................................................. 10
Series 5: Joseph M. Fishers photographs, 1942-1945...........................................................................11
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Joseph M. Fisher World War II scrapbook and photographs MSS.264
Summary Information
Repository
Ball State University Archives and Special Collections
Creator
Fisher, Joseph M. , 1922-
Creator - Compiler
Fisher, Vanchie Dell
Title
Joseph M. Fisher scrapbook and photographs
Date
1942-1945
Extent
1.5 Cubic feet 4 boxes
Language
English
Preferred Citation
Joseph M. Fishers crapbook and photographs, Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University
Libraries
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Joseph M. Fisher World War II scrapbook and photographs MSS.264
Biographical Note
Joseph Morton Fisher was born on February 15, 1922 in Summitville, Indiana to Arthur Conroy and
Vanchie Dell Fisher. The Fisher family soon moved to Muncie, Indiana and Joseph graduated from
Muncie Central High School in 1939. Fisher was inducted into the United States Army on December 23,
1942 and assigned him to the 607th Tank Destroyer Battalion four days later at Camp Hood, Texas. The
607th was training at Camp San Luis Obispo and in the Mojave Desert when Joseph and Mary Catherine
Kabel were married on April 11, 1943. The 607th was then moved to Camp Cooke in Santa Maria,
California until the Battalion was called upon for overseas duty in March 1944.
Fisher and the 607th received further training in England in between April and June 1944 before going
into battle on Utah Beach in Normandy on June 17, 1944. The 607th swiftly cut across France and
Germany through 1944 and 1945, with Fisher serving much of his time as an anti-tank gun crewman.
Fisher was promoted to Private First Class in December 1944, Corporal in May 1945 and Sergeant in
June 1945. Fisher earned the American Theater Ribbon, the Good Conduct Ribbon, the Victory Medal,
and the European Theater Ribbon with five major battle stars for service in Normandy, Northern France,
the Ardennes, the Rhineland and Central Europe. Fisher also earned the Purple Heart for wounds received
in action on April 21, 1945. Fisher finally returned home to Muncie on November 9, 1945 and was
honorably discharged at Camp Atterbury, Indiana on December 2, 1945.
Scope and Contents
This collection includes a scrapbook compiled by Vanchie Fisher about her son’s experience in the Army.
The scrapbook is made up primarily of letters from Fisher to his parents. The corresponding envelopes are
still in the scrapbook. The letters were written from December 1942 until October 1945, with the bulk of
the letters occurring between January 1943 and August 1945. The letters' content is primarily discussions
about family matters, events in Muncie and news about Fisher in the military. Other materials included
in the collection are mementos sent home by Fisher that were not fastened to the scrapbook, inserts from
envelopes containing allotment checks and newspaper clippings Joseph had sent home. Also included
with the collection are copies of Fisher's military discharge papers and historical information about the
607 Tank Destroyer Battalion.
P.264 includes digital copies of four photograph albums documenting Fisher's military service. The
albums were organized by Fisher and his wife Mary Catherine (Cabel) Fisher. The first three folders
contain printed sheets with the individual scanned pictures arranged in numerical order. The fourth folder
is a print-out of scans of Mr. Fisher’s photo album. All of the sheets have reference numbers on the back,
which correlate with the file names of the digital images. The files are all in the TIFF format, at least 300
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Joseph M. Fisher World War II scrapbook and photographs MSS.264
dpi and have been copied to a DVD contained in the box. The original photos are still the property of Mr.
Fisher and his family.
Arrangement
Arranged in the following series:
Series 1: Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1942-1945
Series 2: Joseph M. Fisher newspaper clippings and printed ephemera, ca. 1940s
Series 3: Joseph M. Fisher scrapbook, 1942-1945
Series 4: Joseph M. Fisher photograph albums, 1942-1945
Series 5: Joseph M. Fisher photographs, 1942-1945
Administrative Information
Publication Information
Ball State University Archives and Special Collections
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Copyright Notice
Legal title, copyright, and literary rights reside with Archives and Special Collections, Ball State
University Libraries, Muncie, IN. All requests to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted to
Archives and Special Collections.
Custodial History
The Joseph M. Fisher World War II Scrapbook was received by Archives and Special Collections as a
donation from Joseph Morton Fisher on 2007/07/13.
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Joseph M. Fisher World War II scrapbook and photographs MSS.264
Accruals
No further additions are expected.
Processing Information
Collection processing completed 2008/4 by A. Frohberg. Finding aid revised 2008 and 2009 by Maren
L. Read. Finding aid revised 2009/05/18 by Rachel N. Miller. EAD finding aid completed 2009/05/20 by
Maren L. Read.
Existence and Location of Copies
Digital reproductions of the Joseph M. Fisher Scrapbook and Photographs are available electronically
through the Ball State University Libraries' Digital Media Repository.
Controlled Access Headings
Genre(s)
•
•
•
•
•
Clippings
Correspondence
Documents
Photograph albums
Scrapbooks
Geographic Name(s)
• Fort Benjamin Harrison (Ind.)
• Fort Hood (Tex.)
• Muncie (Ind.)
Subject(s)
•
•
•
•
Buchenwald (concentration camp)
Military education
Stoeckel Archives of Local History
World War, 1939-1945
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Joseph M. Fisher World War II scrapbook and photographs MSS.264
• World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--France--Normandy
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Joseph M. Fisher World War II scrapbook and photographs MSS.264
Series 1: Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1942-1945
Collection Inventory
Series 1: Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1942-1945
Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1942 Dec.
Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1943 Jan.
Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1943 Feb.
Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1943 Mar.
Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1943 Apr.
Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1943 May
Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1943 June
Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1943 July
Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1943 Sept.-Oct.
Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1943 Nov.-Dec.
Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1944 Jan.-Mar.
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Box
Folder
1
1
1
2
1
3
1
4
1
5
1
6
1
7
1
8
1
9
1
10
1
11
Joseph M. Fisher World War II scrapbook and photographs MSS.264
Series 1: Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1942-1945
Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1944 Apr.-May
Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1944 June-July
Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1944 Aug.
Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1944 Sept.-Oct.
Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1944 Nov.
Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1944 Dec.
Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1945 Jan.
Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1945 Feb.
Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1945 Mar.
Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1945 Apr.
Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1945 May
Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1945 June
Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1945 July
Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1945 Aug.
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1
12
1
13
1
14
2
1
2
2
2
3
3
4
2
5
2
6
2
7
2
8
2
9
2
10
2
11
Joseph M. Fisher World War II scrapbook and photographs MSS.264
Series 2: Joseph M. Fisher newspaper clippings and printed ephemera, ca. 1...
Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1945 Sept.-Oct.
2
12
Series 2: Joseph M. Fisher newspaper clippings and printed ephemera, ca. 1940s
Newspaper Clippings from Scrapbook, 1940s
Other Items from Scrapbook, 1940s
Allotment Inserts, 1943 Mar.-1944 Apr.
Military Discharge documents, December 1945
Information on the 607th Tank Destroyer Battalion, undated
Series 3: Joseph M. Fisher scrapbook, 1942-1945
Joseph M. Fisher scrapbook, 1942-1945
Box
Folder
2
13
2
14
2
15
2
16
2
17
Box
Volume
3
1
Box
3
Volume
1
Box
Folder
4
1
4
2
P.253 Series 4: Joseph M. Fisher photograph albums, 1942-1945
Joseph M. Fisher World War II photograph album, 1942-1945
Joseph M. Fisher World War II photograph album, 1942-1945
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Joseph M. Fisher World War II scrapbook and photographs MSS.264
Series 5: Joseph M. Fishers photographs, 1942-1945
Joseph M. Fisher World War II photograph album, 1942-1945
Joseph M. Fisher World War II photograph album, 1942-1945
Joseph M. Fisher World War II photograph albums, 1942-1945
P.253 Series 5: Joseph M. Fishers photographs, 1942-1945
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