Joseph M. Fisher World War II scrapbook and photographs MSS.264 This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit November 05, 2013 Describing Archives: A Content Standard Ball State University Archives and Special Collections Alexander M. Bracken Library 2000 W. University Avenue Muncie, Indiana, 47306 765-285-5078 libarchives@bsu.edu
Table of Contents Summary Information... 3 Biographical Note... 4 Scope and Contents... 4 Arrangement...5 Administrative Information...5 Controlled Access Headings...6 Collection Inventory... 8 Series 1: Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1942-1945...8 Series 2: Joseph M. Fisher newspaper clippings and printed ephemera, ca. 1940s... 10 Series 4: Joseph M. Fisher photograph albums, 1942-1945... 10 Series 5: Joseph M. Fishers photographs, 1942-1945...11 - Page 2 -
Summary Information Repository Ball State University Archives and Special Collections Creator Fisher, Joseph M., 1922- Creator - Compiler Fisher, Vanchie Dell Title Joseph M. Fisher scrapbook and photographs Date 1942-1945 Extent 1.5 Cubic feet 4 boxes Language English Preferred Citation Joseph M. Fishers crapbook and photographs, Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries - Page 3 -
Biographical Note Joseph Morton Fisher was born on February 15, 1922 in Summitville, Indiana to Arthur Conroy and Vanchie Dell Fisher. The Fisher family soon moved to Muncie, Indiana and Joseph graduated from Muncie Central High School in 1939. Fisher was inducted into the United States Army on December 23, 1942 and assigned him to the 607th Tank Destroyer Battalion four days later at Camp Hood, Texas. The 607th was training at Camp San Luis Obispo and in the Mojave Desert when Joseph and Mary Catherine Kabel were married on April 11, 1943. The 607th was then moved to Camp Cooke in Santa Maria, California until the Battalion was called upon for overseas duty in March 1944. Fisher and the 607th received further training in England in between April and June 1944 before going into battle on Utah Beach in Normandy on June 17, 1944. The 607th swiftly cut across France and Germany through 1944 and 1945, with Fisher serving much of his time as an anti-tank gun crewman. Fisher was promoted to Private First Class in December 1944, Corporal in May 1945 and Sergeant in June 1945. Fisher earned the American Theater Ribbon, the Good Conduct Ribbon, the Victory Medal, and the European Theater Ribbon with five major battle stars for service in Normandy, Northern France, the Ardennes, the Rhineland and Central Europe. Fisher also earned the Purple Heart for wounds received in action on April 21, 1945. Fisher finally returned home to Muncie on November 9, 1945 and was honorably discharged at Camp Atterbury, Indiana on December 2, 1945. Scope and Contents This collection includes a scrapbook compiled by Vanchie Fisher about her son s experience in the Army. The scrapbook is made up primarily of letters from Fisher to his parents. The corresponding envelopes are still in the scrapbook. The letters were written from December 1942 until October 1945, with the bulk of the letters occurring between January 1943 and August 1945. The letters' content is primarily discussions about family matters, events in Muncie and news about Fisher in the military. Other materials included in the collection are mementos sent home by Fisher that were not fastened to the scrapbook, inserts from envelopes containing allotment checks and newspaper clippings Joseph had sent home. Also included with the collection are copies of Fisher's military discharge papers and historical information about the 607 Tank Destroyer Battalion. P.264 includes digital copies of four photograph albums documenting Fisher's military service. The albums were organized by Fisher and his wife Mary Catherine (Cabel) Fisher. The first three folders contain printed sheets with the individual scanned pictures arranged in numerical order. The fourth folder is a print-out of scans of Mr. Fisher s photo album. All of the sheets have reference numbers on the back, which correlate with the file names of the digital images. The files are all in the TIFF format, at least 300 - Page 4 -
dpi and have been copied to a DVD contained in the box. The original photos are still the property of Mr. Fisher and his family. Arrangement Arranged in the following series: Series 1: Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1942-1945 Series 2: Joseph M. Fisher newspaper clippings and printed ephemera, ca. 1940s Series 3: Joseph M. Fisher scrapbook, 1942-1945 Series 4: Joseph M. Fisher photograph albums, 1942-1945 Series 5: Joseph M. Fisher photographs, 1942-1945 Administrative Information Publication Information Ball State University Archives and Special Collections Conditions Governing Access This collection is open for research. Copyright Notice Legal title, copyright, and literary rights reside with Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries, Muncie, IN. All requests to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted to Archives and Special Collections. Custodial History The Joseph M. Fisher World War II Scrapbook was received by Archives and Special Collections as a donation from Joseph Morton Fisher on 2007/07/13. - Page 5 -
Accruals No further additions are expected. Processing Information Collection processing completed 2008/4 by A. Frohberg. Finding aid revised 2008 and 2009 by Maren L. Read. Finding aid revised 2009/05/18 by Rachel N. Miller. EAD finding aid completed 2009/05/20 by Maren L. Read. Existence and Location of Copies Digital reproductions of the Joseph M. Fisher Scrapbook and Photographs are available electronically through the Ball State University Libraries' Digital Media Repository. Controlled Access Headings Genre(s) Clippings Correspondence Documents Photograph albums Scrapbooks Geographic Name(s) Fort Benjamin Harrison (Ind.) Fort Hood (Tex.) Muncie (Ind.) Subject(s) Buchenwald (concentration camp) Military education Stoeckel Archives of Local History World War, 1939-1945 - Page 6 -
World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--France--Normandy - Page 7 -
Series 1: Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1942-1945 Collection Inventory Series 1: Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1942-1945 Box Folder Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1942 Dec. 1 1 Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1943 Jan. 1 2 Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1943 Feb. 1 3 Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1943 Mar. 1 4 Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1943 Apr. 1 5 Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1943 May 1 6 Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1943 June 1 7 Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1943 July 1 8 Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1943 Sept.-Oct. 1 9 Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1943 Nov.-Dec. 1 10 Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1944 Jan.-Mar. 1 11 - Page 8 -
Series 1: Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1942-1945 Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1944 Apr.-May 1 12 Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1944 June-July 1 13 Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1944 Aug. 1 14 Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1944 Sept.-Oct. 2 1 Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1944 Nov. 2 2 Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1944 Dec. 2 3 Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1945 Jan. 3 4 Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1945 Feb. 2 5 Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1945 Mar. 2 6 Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1945 Apr. 2 7 Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1945 May 2 8 Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1945 June 2 9 Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1945 July 2 10 Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1945 Aug. 2 11 - Page 9 -
Series 2: Joseph M. Fisher newspaper clippings and printed ephemera, ca. 1... Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1945 Sept.-Oct. 2 12 Series 2: Joseph M. Fisher newspaper clippings and printed ephemera, ca. 1940s Box Folder Newspaper Clippings from Scrapbook, 1940s 2 13 Other Items from Scrapbook, 1940s 2 14 Allotment Inserts, 1943 Mar.-1944 Apr. 2 15 Military Discharge documents, December 1945 2 16 Information on the 607th Tank Destroyer Battalion, undated 2 17 Box Volume Series 3: Joseph M. Fisher scrapbook, 1942-1945 3 1 Joseph M. Fisher scrapbook, 1942-1945 Box 3 Volume 1 P.253 Series 4: Joseph M. Fisher photograph albums, 1942-1945 Box Folder Joseph M. Fisher World War II photograph album, 1942-1945 4 1 Joseph M. Fisher World War II photograph album, 1942-1945 4 2 - Page 10 -
Series 5: Joseph M. Fishers photographs, 1942-1945 Joseph M. Fisher World War II photograph album, 1942-1945 4 3 Joseph M. Fisher World War II photograph album, 1942-1945 4 5 Joseph M. Fisher World War II photograph albums, 1942-1945 4 5 P.253 Series 5: Joseph M. Fishers photographs, 1942-1945 - Page 11 -