Manuscripts Department
Library of the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill
SOUTHERN HISTORICAL COLLECTION
#4635
ROBERT E. DANIELS PAPERS
Inventory
Abstract: Letters from Robert E. Daniels, an Indiana native and
surgeon with the 8th Medical Battalion, U.S. Army
Medical Corps during World War II, to his wife, Marie
G. Daniels and young daughter Lorabel. Letters in
1941 are from Robert, then a student officer at
Carlisle Barracks, Carlisle, Pa., from which he
complained of the compressed
nature of his studies. By September, Robert had been
transferred to Fort Jackson, S.C., from which he wrote
about camp life. By July 1944, Robert, promoted to
lieutenant colonel, was writing letters from
"Somewhere in France" containing a fair amount of
description of camp life, bombing and strafing, his
interest in the French language and food, and the
plunder he was collecting and sending home. By
January 1945, he wrote from "Somewhere in
Germany," chiefly about camp life, but, occasionally
about his activities in the field and in camp
hospitals. By May,the war in Europe had ended, and
Robert was able to tell Marie about his movements
since his arrival in Germany.
Also in May, he described a brief leave he took to
visit Paris. Letters from Europe end in June; by
July, Robert was home on leave. In August, he was
assigned to Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., from which he
complained of feeling like he was preparing for
another war. In the last letter, dated 6 September,
Robert speculated on when he would be
released from service. There are also a few routine
letters from friends and relatives.
Online Catalog Terms:
Daniels, Robert E., 1904- .
France--Description and travel--World War, 1939-1945.
Paris--Description and travel--World War, 1939-1945.
Soldiers--United States--Correspondence--History--World War,
1939-1945.
United States. Army--Medical personnel--History--World War,
1939-1945.
United States. Army--Military life--History--World War, 1939-
1945.
United States. Army--Surgeons--Correspondence--History--World
War, 1939-1945.
United States. Army--Surgeons--History--World War, 1939-1945.
World War, 1939-1945--Medical care.
Size: About 180 items (0.5 linear feet).
Provenance: Purchased from Charles Apfelbaum of Valley Stream,
N.Y., in November 1992 (Acc. 92169).
Access: No restrictions.
Copyright: Retained by the authors of items in these papers, or
their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
DESCRIPTION
Letters of Robert E. Daniels, an Indiana native and surgeon with
the 8th Medical Battalion of the United States Army Medical Corps
during World War II, to his wife, Marie G. Daniels and young
daughter Lorabel. Most letters describe Robert's activities and
discuss family news.
Letters in 1941 are from Robert, then a student officer at
Carlisle Barracks, Carlisle, Pa., to Marie and Lorabel, who
apparently were staying with relatives in Indiana. Letters
describe Robert's course of studies, which he complained were a
five-month course crowded into one month. By September, Robert
had been transferred to Fort Jackson, S.C., from which he wrote
about camp life. In October, he was promoted to captain.
Letters show that, by June 1942, Robert had been placed in charge
of the 8th Medical Battalion and promoted to major. Marie and
Lorabel had moved to Columbia, S.C., while Robert was involved in
practice maneuvers in Tennessee. There are no letters for 1943.
By 1944, Robert had been promoted to lieutenant colonel. In May,
he shipped out for Northern Ireland, which he describes in scant
detail, probably due to Army censorship and to the fact that he
spent little time there. By July 1944, his letters originate
from "Somewhere in France." Letters from France contain a fair
amount of description, always with an eye to the power of the
censor.
Robert was impressed with the French; in a letter dated 10
August, he told Marie that "they are centuries ahead of us in the
art of living." In other letters, he described camp life,
bombing and strafing, his interest in the French language and
food, and the plunder he was collecting and sending home. He
also took care to affirm repeatedly his loyalty to Marie in the
face of the temptations placed before him. In a rare
philosophical moment, Robert wrote, on 6 August 1944: "War won't
change me, Baby. I look at it and calculate. To an M.O.
[medical officer] it means torn tissues, blood vessels,
broken bone, etc. All of which we must fix. The process of
easing pain is the same here or elsewhere--it is just more
wholesale. I believe war generally softens men. Makes them less
hard. Certainly more understanding of fellow man. It makes them
acutely aware of the mortality of flesh. About the immortality
of the soul I can't say--definitely they do not snub the idea.
My views on the idea are unchanged and probably will remain so.
Preachers and rituals mean little. These matters are settled in
other ways. Manifested in manners. Now how did I get on this
subject, I wonder."
Meanwhile, Marie and Lorabel, who had relocated to Murfreesboro,
Tenn., in early 1944, moved again, this time to Asheville, N.C.
Robert mentioned the benefits of living in Asheville in a few
letters written around August and September, but it is unclear
why Marie chose that town or what she thought of it.
In late 1944, Robert wrote from "Somewhere in Luxembourg, where
he continued to study French and collect German memorabilia. In
January 1945, he wrote from "Somewhere in Germany," chiefly about
camp life, the snacks he received from home, and his interest in
the activities of family members and friends. There are a few
letters in which he described his own activities in the field and
in camp hospitals. Some of these descriptions are a bit grisly.
February 1945, Robert told Marie of a brief leave in England he
had taken. By May, the war in Europe had ended, and Robert was
able to tell Marie exactly where he was and where he had been. A
letter dated 28 May summarizes his movements since his arrival in
Germany, ending with his current location at Schwerin, a resort
town east of Hamburg. Also in May, he described a leave he took
in Paris.
Letters from Europe end in June; by July, Robert was home on
leave. In August, he was assigned to Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., from
which he complained of feeling like he was preparing for another
war. In the last letter, dated 6 September, Robert speculated on
when he would be released from service.
Also included are a few letters from other soldiers to Robert
and, in mid-1945, from relatives and friends to Robert and Marie.
Folder 1 1941
2 1942
1944
3 February-August
4 September-December
1945
5 January-March
6 April-May
7 June-September
Shelf List
Box 1 (only)