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"We are safe and hearty." (Telegram from John William Boehne III to his father, 6/23/1944)
   John William Boehne, III
Collection image
John Boehne in uniform [n.d.]		War: World War, 1939-1945
Branch: Navy
Unit: Amphibious Force; USS LST-375 (Landing Ship Tank)
Service Location: Little Creek, Virginia; Cornwall, England; Omaha Beach, Normandy, France; Washington, DC; European Theater
Rank: Lieutenant
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The son of a U.S. Congressman from Indiana, Lieutenant John William Boehne III enlisted in the Navy in 1942, and served with the Amphibious Corps. While his memoir recounts his experiences on D-Day aboard USS LST-375 (Landing Ship Tank), and the carnage he witnessed on the beach, his original letters and scrapbook present another facet of his story--that of his time stationed in England before the invasion. Maps of London, ticket stubs, menus, and postcards provide a sense of his travels and pub crawls throughout the countryside. Letters received from Rena, a member of the women's branch of the British Army, hint at the close ties that often developed between military members and their British hosts. As Rena relates in a letter, "Yes our acquaintance was short, but so very sweet."
Interview (Video)
» Part 1 
Download: video (37 min.)
»Excerpt from interview in which veteran discusses the lead-up to D-Day (2 min.)
»Excerpt from interview in which veteran discusses his experiences on D-Day (1 min.)
Photos
»Photo Album  (10 photos)
Memoirs
»Memoir: "A record of events during twenty interesting and memorable months"
Official Documents
»View List (37 items)
Personal Correspondence
»View List (14 items)
Maps
»View List (3 items)
Other Materials
»View List (11 items)
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»D-Day On the Beach
Official Documents (37 items)
Top Secret "Neptune" Hq. CT16 & CT18, Div Trps. Landing Diagram, Annex E Sheet 1 Top Secret "Neptune" Hq. CT16 & CT18, Div Trps. Landing Diagram, Annex E Sheet 2 Map chart and shoreline sketch
Request for leave [12/20/1944] Change of duty [1/19/1945] Memo from USS LST 375, Re: assuming duties of gunnery officer [2/1/1945]
Leave request [2/14/1945] Change of duty [June-July 1945] Travel itinerary [7/30/1945]
Statement of active sea duty [8/13/1945] Points for Discharge [10/1945] Authority to wear theatre of war ribbons [10/10/1945]
Notification of appointment [11/7/1945] Retention on Active Duty [3/13/1946] Discharge from active duty [1946]
Wallet-size, laminated certificate of satisfactory service [1946] Change of classification [1948] Appointment in the Naval Reserve [8/1948]
U.S.N.R. Permanent Appointment Acknowledgement [11/26/1948] Memo Re: Assignment to the Voluntary Reserve Medical Division[4/21/1949] Annual Qualifications Questionnaire [11/11/1949]
Transfer to Inactive Status [12/29/1950] Acceptance of Boehne's retirement from the Naval Reserve [8/15/1952] Appointment in Naval Reserve [3/12/1943]
Orders for Ensign John William Boehne, USNR [3/12/1943] Orders for Ensign John W. Boehne [4/20/1943] Change of Duty [6/15/1943]
Change of Duty [7/22/1943] Orders [10/31/1943] Change of Duty [11/28/1943]
Request for Leave [1/15/1944] Watch List [2/14/1944] Orders [3/10/1944]
Report of physical examination for promotion [5/31/1944] Temporary Appointment [6/3/1944] Telegram to his father, John W. Boehne, Jr. [6/23/1944]
Request for Leave [10/26/1944]  
  
Personal Correspondence (14 items)
Letter from Congressman John W. Boehne, Jr., to his son John W. Boehne III [12/8/1941] Letter from F.R. Webber [10/20/1943] Letter from John W. Boehne, Jr., to his son John W. Boehne III [12/27/1943]
Letter from Rena to Bill, London, England [n.d.] Letter from Rena to Bill, London, England [n.d.] Letter from Rena to Bill, London, England [n.d.]
Letter from Rena to Bill, London, England [n.d.] Letter from Rena to Bill, London, England [n.d.] Letter from Rena to Bill, London, England [n.d.]
Letter from Rena to Bill, London, England [n.d.] Letter from Rena to Bill, London, England [n.d.] Letter from Rena to Bill, London, England [n.d.]
Letter from Rena to Bill, London, England [n.d.] Letter from Rena to Bill, London, England [4/10/1944] 
  
Maps (3 items)
Normandy invasion map, Appendix 1 to Annex A to Operation Order BB-44 "Top Secret Neptune" Top Secret Omaha Assault Area Diagram Reference BA2073 Map: Omaha Beach-East (Colleville-sur-Mer)
  
Other Materials (11 items)
Scrapbook. Mementos from Boehne's service years, primarily while overseas. "Welcome!" Newsletter given out to troops arriving in England Three letters concerning Boehne's participation in a "Normandy Portraits" Exhibition in 1994
Clothing invoices Collection of items from the "SP News Ticker" on 11/14/1946 Poem: "Reconversion"
Insignia of Boehne's Midshipmen Class at Furnald Hall, Columbia University, New York [1942-43] A Poem by Thomas Hardy and apocryphal words of Abraham Lincoln Military patch
Partial poem written on a blank V-Mail form [n.d.] "Contract" signifying Petrena Park Moyes, "Rena", as a member of Episolon Beta [12/25/1944] 
  
 

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