World War II – Page 2 – The UncommonWealth

“These are the Men Who Took the Cliffs”: Virginians on D-Day

Seventy-five years ago today, Allied forces landed on the Normandy beaches of France, launching the invasion that would push the Nazis out of France and…

Claire RadcliffeJune 6, 2019

Newspapers

D-Day 75th Anniversary – The Bedford Boys

Thursday, June 6, marks the 75th anniversary of the Allied invasion of the beaches of Nazi-occupied France on D-Day. In honor of the sacrifices made…

Kyle RogersJune 5, 2019

Manuscripts & Special Collections

Then You Owe Me a Drink!: W. W. Poland’s WWII Short Snorter

Recently Susan Chiarello brought in a very unusual item to be scanned for the Virginia World War I/World War II Commission—her grandfather’s short snorter. Measuring…

Trenton HizerFebruary 28, 2018

Archives Manuscripts & Special Collections

Pearl Harbor: December 7, 1941

With those words, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan. Millions of Americans learned about the attack and heard the president’s…

Roger ChristmanDecember 7, 2016

Newspapers

History Unfolded

The Virginia Newspaper Project is always eager to spread the word about historical crowd-sourcing projects that focus on newspapers as a source for information. Recently,…

Kelley EwingAugust 25, 2016

Archives

Blood Brothers: the Virginia World War II Separation Notices

In observance of Veteran’s Day, Out of the Box would like to spotlight the Virginia World War II Separation Notices (accession 23573). Part of the records of…

Roger ChristmanNovember 11, 2015

Archives

The Conscientious Objector: Desmond T. Doss

In keeping with Out of the Box’s recent anniversary theme, today’s post spotlights Lynchburg native Desmond T. Doss (1919-2006), the first conscientious objector to receive…

Roger ChristmanMay 21, 2015

Archives

Artists for Victory

Today is the 70th anniversary of the V-E Day (Victory in Europe Day), marking the end of World War II in Europe. To mark the…

Roger ChristmanMay 8, 2015

Certificate of Survival issued to Grayson B. Boyer, 2 May 1945.

Archives

A ‘Salty’ take on survival

In cataloging the papers of Grayson B. Boyer (1915-1970) of Grayson County, Virginia, one cannot help but notice the dramatically-titled and cheekily-illustrated “Certificate of Survival”…

Jessica Tyree BurgessJanuary 28, 2015

Archives

We Remember: Bedford County and the 70th Anniversary of D-Day

On 6 June 1944, soldiers of the Allied Expeditionary Force stormed the beaches of Normandy as part of Operation Overlord, the largest seaborne invasion in history. …

Roger ChristmanJune 6, 2014

Archives

“There’s only one thing I don’t like about Combat–It Ain’t Safe!”

When John Hager Randolph Jr. wrote to his parents in Richmond near the end of his Virginia Military Institute career in the spring of 1942,…

Jessica Tyree BurgessApril 2, 2014

Archives

Keep Your Eyes Aloft

Seventy years ago in Greene County, Virginia, civilian volunteers began to look toward the skies and record their observations in a log book, a simple…

Callie FreedNovember 6, 2013

Manuscripts & Special Collections

Feed your family on the cheap!

Having trouble stretching that dime in tough economic times? Need some inspiration figuring out how to feed hungry mouths on a budget? For advice you…

Jessica Tyree BurgessJuly 10, 2013

Manuscripts & Special Collections

Yearbook marks one chapter in a pioneering life

With 2011 marking the 70th anniversary of the United States’ entry into World War II, the Library of Virginia undertook a concerted effort to collect the…

Trenton HizerJanuary 23, 2013

Manuscripts & Special Collections

"…we all have tiers in our eyes and our hearts are in the pit of our stomacks"

It is rare for anyone to be directly involved in an event that can be labeled, without exaggeration, a turning point in world history. The…

Jessica Tyree BurgessJune 6, 2012