The collection consists of a typescript diary entitled
Fringe of War and was compiled from Brooks's diary notes while on the USS
BORUM (1943-1945). Particularly interesting entries pertain to bombing raids by German planes off the English coast (May 10-28, 1944, pp. 27-29); Operations Neptune and Overlord, code names for the Allied invasion of Normandy, France, that includes details of actions, ships present, and code names used for ship identification (June 4-6, 1944, pp. 31-40); and a German raid on London and its destruction (December 17, 1944, pp. 74-75). Other military-related entries concern German weapons including delayed action bombs and mines (May 28-30, pp. 29-30); radio controlled missiles (June 19, 1944, p. 42); and rockets or "buzz bombs" (June 25, 1944, p. 50). Throughout the diary, escort and convoy duties of the BORUM are described, including patrols in the Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey (August 23-October 22, 1944, pp. 60-71).
Other entries concern the
BORUM's first sea trials in the Caribbean Sea and descriptions of Haiti and Panama (February 14-18, 1944, pp. 7-9). Also included are descriptions of sites in San Miguel, Azores (March 18, 1944, p. 12); Londonderry, Ireland (March 1944, pp. 15-16); Plymouth (April 4-30, 1944, pp. 17-25), Exeter (September 1, 1944, pp. 62-63), Bristol (September 26, 1944, p. 66), and London(November 9 and December 17, 1944, pp. 73-75), England; and Cherbourg (August 20, 1944, p. 59), Le Havre (January 9-16, 1945, pp. 79-80), and Paris (March 6, 1945, pp. 82-84), France.
For further information on John L. Landreth, see O.H. #119.