"The Secretary of War desires that I tender his deep sympathy to you in the loss of your husband Captain Robert B. Ware." (Telegram to Mrs. Ware, 8/5/1944)

Robert Barnes Ware

Robert Ware [1942] War: World War, 1939-1945 Branch: Army Unit: 104th Medical Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division Service Location: Fort Meade, Maryland; Fort A. P. Hill, Virginia; Florida; England; Omaha Beach, Normandy, France Rank: Captain

Unlike many who fought, Captain Robert Barnes Ware did not wait to be drafted, or enlist following the attack on Pearl Harbor. Forgoing an internship at Lynchburg General Hospital, he volunteered for the Virginia National Guard in 1940 and was assigned to the Army's 104th Medical Battalion. On D-Day, he chose to launch with one of the first waves of the invasion, instead of waiting for the beach to be cleared, and was killed while attempting to disembark from his landing craft. Official correspondence from the military about his death was slow in coming: a telegram confirming his status as killed in action did not arrive until August 5th, nearly two months after D-Day. His collection--with letters sent between Ware and his wife, as well as official military correspondence relating to life insurance and benefits--conveys the devastating emotional and financial impact on families when a servicemember is killed in action.