Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Wednesday’s Wonderful Collection - James E. Womeldorff papers, MG.00097


James Eugene "Jim" Womeldorff was born April 1, 1907, in Iowa. After moving to Arkansas he was a partner in the W.R. Stephens Investment Company of Little Rock. He joined the United States Army Air Corps in January 1942. He attended Officers Training School in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and Miami, Florida. He graduated in October 1942, and was sent to Europe. Later Womeldorff was a captain assigned to the Marauder Group, 456 Bomb Squadron, 323 Bomb Group based in England, France, and Germany. He served in Normandy, northern France, the Ardennes, the Rhineland, and central Europe. He received the Bronze Star, Air Medal, and numerous other citations, ending the war as a lieutenant colonel.
He was married to Mary Esther Zook Womeldorff, and they had two children, Mary Esther Miller, born December 10, 1943, and Madolyn Barnes. Womeldorff died January 31, 1993, in Little Rock, and is buried in the Roselawn Cemetery.
This collection contains letters from James E. Womeldorff to his wife Esther and daughter Mary while he was serving in England, France, and Germany, in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II.
·         1942: Jim, Myrtle Beach Bombing Range, to Esther, in care of Vance Kimbro, Portland, Arkansas (Reel MG00097)
·         1943: Jim, England, to Esther, Memphis, Tennessee
·         1944: Jim, to Esther and Mary Esther, Memphis, Tennessee
·         1945 June 12: Jim, France, to Esther and Mary Esther, Memphis, Tennessee (Reel MG00098)
·         1945 June 14: Jim, Germany, to Esther and Mary Esther, Memphis, Tennessee
·         1943: V-Mail
·         1943: Telegrams and miscellaneous
·         Newspapers
o    1944 June 18: Sunday "The Commercial Appeal," Memphis, Tennessee
o    1944 January 13: "Stars and Stripes"
o    1944 June 7: "Stars and Stripes"
o    1944 June 15: "The Daily Bond Buyer" New York, New York
o    1944 June 17: "Stars and Stripes"
o    1944 July 7: "Stars and Stripes"
o    1945 March 11: "The Commerical Appeal," Memphis, Tennessee
o    1945 April 21: "Collier's," pages 63-68