Archive Record
Images
Additional Images [4]
Metadata
Object Identification Number |
2015.059.017 |
Object Name |
Album, Photograph |
Donor |
Rasmussen, Merle |
Scope / Description |
Blue photo album containing 94 original photos. Album has a dark blue leather cover. The back cover is a solid, smooth surface, as is the spine. The outer edges of the front cover are smooth, but the center features a slightly textured diagonal pattern. Inside are black plastic pages with clear slots for inserting photos. Contains black and white photos, most with IDs on back. One photo is taped to the inside of the front cover. Two cards with prints of artwork are tucked into the album further back. Photos are mostly rectangular with white borders. Images vary from soldiers individually and with planes and tanks, to field and landscape scenes, building images, equipment, and children. 7 1/4" W x 9" L x 2 3/8" D Size is of album - photos vary in sizes See "Search Terms" for a comprehensive list of the topics and people and place names referenced by the photos in this album. The archival pieces from this donation as well as the dog tags and stitched insignia were tucked into slots in this album upon donation. They were removed for cataloging. These photos were owned by Junior Marion Rasmussen. They were assembled into albums by the donor. The photos were taken by Junior Rasmussen and his fellow serviceman Merle Merritt. Rasmussen and Merritt met in the Army and became life-long friends. Rasmussen named his son, the donor, after Merritt. Both men were farm boys back home and some of the photos feature German farms. Some photos illustrate their personal bunking spaces, reading letters from home, tours of a zoo, and military vehicles and bombing rubble. Most of the captions were written by the donor. RASMUSSEN: All of the materials in this donation belonged to the donor's father Junior Marion Rasmussen who served in the U.S. Army immediately following WWII, in the 78th Division, 16th Cavalry, Berlin Constabulary, in a Reconnaissance Unit. He served as a Private First Class in Berlin, patrolled the American Sector, befriended German civilians, and collected souvenirs which he brought home to the U.S. Rasmussen (May 22, 1924-May 17, 2015) was born in Council Bluffs, Iowa and was the son of Danish American parents Marion (1885-1969) and Maren Kristine (Steffensen) Rasmussen (b. ?) who were married on January 5, 1921. Maren died on May 31, 1924, just days after giving birth. In 1925, Marion remarried to another Danish immigrant woman, Marie E. Jensen, to help raise his son. Junior Rasmussen married Mary Elizabeth on May 19, 1956, and they had one son, the donor. Marion's parents were Lars Christian Rasmussen and Karen Marie Andersen Rasmussen. Lars was born in 1851 in Hjørring, Denmark, and died in 1934 in Neola, Iowa. Karen was born in 1843 in Voer, Hjørring, Denmark, and died in 1928 in Neola. The couple immigrated in 1882. Their son Marion was born in Weston, Iowa, south of Neola about 10 miles. 78TH DIVISION: The 78th Infantry Division was activated on August 23, 1917 at Camp Dix, New Jersey. In World War II, the 78th Division was reactivated at Camp Butner, North Carolina on August 15, 1942. After two years as a Training Division, the 78th embarked for the European Theatre. There, in combat in Belgium, France and Germany our men brought even more honor to an already proud name. The Siegfried Line, the Roer and Rhine rivers, the Cologne plain, the Remagen bridgehead, the Ruhr pocket - all lay along the road to Berlin, where after six months of occupation duty, the Division was officially deactivated in May of 1946. The 78th Division again responded to the nation's call in 1990 and 1991 during Desert Shield/Desert Storm. In 1992, the Division transformed into an Exercise Division under the Army's "Bold Shift" initiative. The new mission is to conduct small unit collective training (Lanes) and computerized battle simulation exercises for client units in the First Army East area. |
Date |
mid-late 1940s |
Associated People |
Rasmussen, Junior Marion Merritt, Merle Meyer, Victor Oliver, Joe Hitler, Adolf |
Search Terms |
Photograph Album WWII World War II military 78th Division machine gun monument tank 16th Cavalry Headquarters Hitler's boat bombing rubble Berlin, Germany Olympic Stadium airplanes Hamburg Bremen S-Bahn train station Hurst Berlin Zoo children Krumnalank opera house William Tower Wannsea Titania Palast Rhine River military camp International McCormick Rasmussen, Junior Marion Merritt, Merle Meyer, Victor Oliver, Joe Hitler, Adolf |
Given In Memory Of |
In Memory of Junior Marion Rasmussen |
Date Received by Museum |
11/28/2015 |
Images |
291\2015059017.JPG |
Accession number |
2015.059 |