Collection (1942-1969) of photographic prints and photocopied documents relating to World War II service of Tarboro, NC natives Hugh E. Best Jr. who served in the U.S. Army Air Force in Europe, Hugh E. Best, Sr., who served in the U.S. Navy; Glanor Gay Best, who served in the Women' s Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC); Gaston Gay, who died while serving in the U.S. Merchant Marine in 1942; also relating to Vietnam War service of Hugh E. Best, III who was killed in action in 1969.
The majority of the collection relates to Captain Leslie Avery Shaw's military service in the U.S. Army, especially during World War II when he served in the 11th AAA, 49th AAA Brigade, VII Corps, U.S. First Army in Europe. Included are maps and overlays concerning operations at Utah Beach at Normandy, orders, citations, reports, photographs, letters, postcards, military ribbons and insignia, and items from his personal military file. Additional items including many photographs document his personal life after the war. Photographs, printed material and memorabilia from the 1950s and early 1960s relate to the early years of his son Robert Avery Shaw's life in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.