Personal Narrative Manuscript/Mixed Material Photo, Print, Drawing John O'Reilly Collection
Veterans History Project Service Summary:
- War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
- Branch of Service: Army
- Unit of Service: Headquarters, 3rd Army, XX Corps (Ghost Corps)
- Location of Service: California; England; Normandy, Avaranches, Coutances, Le Mans, Chartres, Vitre, Laval, Paris, Caen, Verdun, Cherbourg, Fontainebleau, Metz, France; Bastogne, Luxembourg; Ardennes, Belgium; Rhineland; Starnberg, Munchen, Germany; Ried, Austria; European Theater
- Highest Rank: Technician Three
- Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/12739
Serving with XX Corps of Patton's Third Army in the European Theater, Technician Three John O'Reilly sent a handful of typed letters home to his family. Written in a breezy tone, they convey the author's genial personality, despite ongoing struggles with the illness then known as yellow jaundice (actually hepatitis). Continued poor health followed his service in the European Theater, when he returned home with a case of tuberculosis. The other batch of letters in his collection--sent by the Veterans Administration--reveal his fight to have his condition declared a service-related disability and to obtain military benefits; as well, they narrate his ongoing medical treatment, and his eventual death in December 1950.
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About this Item
Title
- John O'Reilly Collection
Names
- O'Reilly, John
- O'Reilly, Molly
Headings
- - O'Reilly, John
- - World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
- - United States. Army.
Repository
- Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
Gender
- Male
Status
- veteran
Service History
-
World War, 1939-1945
- Branch of Service: Army
- Unit of Service: Headquarters, 3rd Army, XX Corps (Ghost Corps)
- Location of Service: California; England; Normandy, Avaranches, Coutances, Le Mans, Chartres, Vitre, Laval, Paris, Caen, Verdun, Cherbourg, Fontainebleau, Metz, France; Bastogne, Luxembourg; Ardennes, Belgium; Rhineland; Starnberg, Munchen, Germany; Ried, Austria; European Theater
- Highest Rank: Technician Three
- Dates of Service: 1942-1945
- Entrance into Service: Enlisted
- Military Status: veteran
Materials
- Manuscript: Correspondence [1 item] -- Mixed (handwritten and typewritten documents) (collected 1942-06-23)
- Manuscript: Biography [1 item] -- (collected 2004-02)
- Manuscript: Military papers (orders, personnel/201 files, etc) [2 items] -- (collected 1943-1945)
- Manuscript: Scrapbooks [1 item] -- (collected 1945-05-21)
- Manuscript: Unit histories [1 item] -- (collected unknown)
- Manuscript: Other Manuscript Material [1 item] -- (collected unknown)
- Manuscript: Periodicals [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 1944-1946)
- Manuscript: Correspondence [28 items] -- (collected 1944-1951)
- Photograph: Original photographic print [154 items] -- Photograph (collected 1943-1949)
Collection Number
- AFC/2001/001/12739
Cite as
- John O'Reilly Collection (AFC/2001/001/12739), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
Online Format
- image
Additional Metadata Formats
IIIF Presentation Manifest
Part of
Wars & Conflicts
Service Branch
Location of Service
- Ardennes, Belgium
- Bastogne, Luxembourg
- California
- England
- European Theater
- Normandy, Avaranches, Coutances, Le Mans, Chartres, Vitre, Laval, Paris, Caen, Verdun, Cherbourg, Fontainebleau, Metz, France
- Rhineland
- Ried, Austria
- Starnberg, Munchen, Germany