William T. Sheaffer Papers

April 26, 1905
Manuscript Collection #671
Portions of this collection are digitized (1 item)
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Creator(s)
Sheaffer, William T.
Physical description
0.055 Cubic Feet, 46 items , consisting of correspondence and an abstracted account of this correspondence entitled "Loneliness & Humor, Frustration & Pride"
Preferred Citation
William T. Sheaffer Papers (#671), East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA.
Repository
ECU Manuscript Collection
Access
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Papers (1943) including correspondence, and an abstracted account of this correspondence entitled "Loneliness and Humor, Frustration and Pride."

Biographical/historical information

William T. Sheaffer (b. 1918), enlisted in the U.S. Navy Reserves (1936) and participated in cruises aboard the destroyers USS ELLIS (DD-154) and USS DECATUR (DD-341). He was drafted (1943) and undertook basic training at the Naval Training Station in Bainbridge, MD, where he was qualified Y3c and assigned to the base personnel office. In December he was transferred to the Naval barracks in Washington, DC, and worked as a passenger transportation agent.

Scope and arrangement

The collection consists of correspondence to Sheaffer's wife, Ginny, written during basic training and his assignment at Bainbridge. Letters describe the details of boot camp, including rules and regulations, punishments for infractions (September 5, 1943), cleaning barracks, guard duty, and KP duty (September 25-27, 1943). Also mentioned are high food costs, physical exams, inoculations, drills, talks, pay and promotion concerns, and laundry. A copy of "Ahoy There Mates" is included with information on National Service Life Insurance (September 6, 1943). A Benny Goodman United Services Organization (USO) tour is mentioned (September 22, 1943) as are various radio programs, including "Charlie McCarthy" (October 22, 1943). Finally, an edited account of Sheaffer's letters describing his boot camp experiences entitled "Loneliness & Humor, Frustration & Pride" completes the collection.

Administrative information
Custodial History

December 6, 1993, 46 items; Correspondence (1943) from U.S. Navy draftee stationed at U.S. Naval Training Station, Bainbridge, MD, along with a copy of an abstracted account entitled "Loneliness & Humor, Frustration & Pride." Gift of Mr. William T. Sheaffer, Silver Spring, MD.

Source of acquisition

Gift of Mr. William T. Sheaffer

Processing information

Processed by D. Painter, December 1994

Encoded by Apex Data Services

Copyright notice

Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. copyright law.

Metadata Rights Declaration
Key terms
Personal Names
Sheaffer, Ginny--Correspondence
Sheaffer, William T., 1918---Correspondence
Corporate Names
United States. Naval Training Center (Bainbridge, Md.)
United States. Navy--Military life
United States. Navy--Recruiting, enlistment, etc.