Lake Forest College World War II Military Records, ed. Francis Beidler II (Lake Forest: the College, ca. 1950), 199 pp.
Title
Subject
Description
This 200 pp. volume created by the College in 1950 was published the same year, apparently, as was completed the Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse, South Campus. The introductory portion of the book lists and shows photographs of those who died in World War II, either Lake Forest College alumni proper or also ASTP soldier-students here in 1943, the latter group including some four hundred young men in all. Of these, half went to the European theater and expereinced normal casualties. The other half went to the 96th Infantry Div., in the Pacific, and sustained heavy casualties, in the battles of Leyte (Philippines) and Okinawa. The remnant of this cohort, including Arthur D. Dubin, ASTP '47 (1923-2011) who was decorated with a bronze star and purple hearts (p. 70, end of section 3), were to go on to invade Japan when the nuclear bombs were dropped in 1945, ending the war.
The book does not have a contents page. The digitized version presented here has been divided up into several sections, and this after-the-fact table of contents can help in locating information within these.
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Table of Contents
Title page (Sect. 1)
"...those who gave their lives in WorldWar II" pp. 3-31 (Sect. 1)
"War Activities of Lake Forest College," by Ernest A. Johnson, president p. 33 (Sect. 2)
Facsimile of Certificate of Training p. [34] (Sect. 2)
"Lake Forest College Training Corps, 1942 and 1943" by F. Beidler II p. 35 (Sect. 2)
"The Army Specialized Training Program" by Ronald B. Williams, Ph.D., coordinator of LF College unit of ASTP pp. 36-37 (Sect. 2)
Editor's Note p. 38 (Sect. 2)
"War Records [of Veterans]" pp. 39-195
A-D, plus Ebener, pp. 39-71 (Sect. 3)
E-L, pp. 72-118 (Sect. 4)
M-R (plus Sackett), pp. 119-155 (Sect. 5)
S-Z, pp. 156-195 (Sect. 6)
"The 96th Infantry Division" by Francis Beidler II 197-98 (Sect. 7)
Letter (copy) to Beidler from Maj. Gen. J. L. Bradley, Ret., commanding gen'l. of 96th Infantry Div., July 25, 1948 [reviewed article and no "substantial errors."] 199 (Sect. 7)
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The editor was College trustee and Lake Forest resident Francis Beidler II, grandson of College trustee and major benefactor Jacob Beidler (1815-1898), of Chicago, a notable lumber entrepreneur of Pennsylvania Dutch descent (see A Genealogical Record of the Descendants of Jacob Beidler... by A. J. Fretz [Milton, N.J.: 1903], pp. facing 312 [portrait] to 320 and ff.). Jacob had endowed the physics chair and provided a substantial house for that professor on Middle Campus, ca. 1890-1965 (demolished). See also 30 Miles North..., by Franz Schulze et al. (2000), p. 58.
Jacob's son, Francis, acquired a newly-constructed house designed by Harrie T. Lindeberg on Stone Gate Rd., Lake Forest, in the 1920s, and Francis II built one nearby ca. 1940. Francis III and Francis IV live in Lake Forest today, the former in the house bought by his grandfather and the latter in a mid-20th-century Frank Lloyd Wright house nearby, that of Charles Glore. The family remains active in the lumber business, in the community and with the College.
Memorials take many forms in various places and to recall many kinds of events and service. But this one in the form of a book is notable for its record of the dead and also its account of the surviving veterans, with descriptionss of their service, where possible in the veterans' own words. Especially for this latter reason, this stands as a unique sort of memorial and as a record central to the history of this institution, now over one hundred and fifty years old.
To obtain better-quality reproductions of any photograph included here, images of those who did not return, please contact the Archives (amiller@lakeforest.edu and 847-735-5064).
Arthur H. Miller, Archivist, Lake Forest College
Creator
Date
Contributor
Bradley, J. L.
Johnson, Ernest A., d. 1959
Williams, Ronald Boal, 1902-1984
Rights
Format
Language
Type
Identifier
| LD2915.43 .B45 |