urn:taro:utsa.00081 A Guide to the Harold O. Lee Papers, 1930-1997 June 23, 2005Encoded in XMetal 2 by Jose Javier Franco Garza according to instructions in TARO 2 EAD 2002 Editing Instructions. March 25, 2008 Revised in XMetal 3 by Angela McClendon to standardize format, standardize subject headings, fix coding errors. Collection title and dates also revised according to standards prescribed by Describing Archives: A Content Standard. Descriptive Summary Lee, Harold, O. Harold O. Lee Papers 1930-1997Materials are in English. MS 136 1.1 linear feet University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries Special Collections Harold O. Lee enlisted in the armed forces after the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. He trained at Scott Field, Illinois, and later went to Europe and Africa to fight in World War II. Collection contains correspondence to and from Harold Lee, his parents, friends, and the War Department, as well as an autobiographical reminiscence, and a few photographs and newspaper clippings. The letters date from 1930 to 1990. The majority of the correspondence ranges from 1942 to 1945, consisting of Harold's letters to his parents chronicling his adventures and misadventures. Biographical Note

Harold O. Lee enlisted in the armed forces after the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. He was scheduled to depart for training 3 days after his 21st birthday on December 31, 1941. After his initial training at Dodd Field, Fort Sam Houston, and Sheperd Field, near Wichita Falls, Lee was sent to Scott Field, Illinois for his Air Corps training. It was there that he went to school to train for the Air Corps. After his schooling he was sent to England, arriving in Liverpool on August 1, 1942. It was here that he began to service radio equipment for the P-38's. In October of 1942 he was sent to North Africa aboard the USS Uruguay. During this time, Lee suffered a gasoline burn during a bombing raid, on Maisson Carrie near Algiers. He was severely burned, but after his recovery he continued his service. Lee finally achieved his goal of flight duty on May 27, 1943. After several months' duty, Lee's plane was shot down over Italy on August 19, 1943. He was sent to the Stalag 17B P.O.W. camp in Germany. Lee remained there until the Germans evacuated due to the Russian advance. The rear echelon of Patton's army rescued him shortly thereafter. Lee was released from the Air Corps on October 26, 1945, and he returned to Texas.

 Scope and Content Note

The collection spans the years 1930 through 1997 and contains correspondence to and from Harold Lee, his parents, friends, and the War Department, as well as an autobiographical reminiscence, and a few photographs and newspaper clippings. The letters date from 1930 to 1990. The majority of the correspondence ranges from 1942 to 1945, consisting of Harold's letters to his parents chronicling his adventures, and misadventures. The correspondence reflects on his time in the service and in the P.O.W. camp. The letters from his parents are either written to him, or returned to sender due to his P.O.W. status. The War Department correspondence is made up of order forms for tobacco, food, and clothes, or informing Mr. and Mrs. Lee of their son's situation. There are several letters responding to Mrs. Lee's pleas for her son's safety, or knowledge of his whereabouts after his capture. There are also newspaper clippings and photographs. The newspaper clipping is on his return home. The photos are of him and his friends at home, or in the service.

The collection also contains small amount of materials from Harold's life before WWII. There are several report cards from school, and tax returns. There is a certificate for participation in an accountant's program. Finally, the collection contains a Reminiscence written by Harold Lee in March of 1997. This recounts Harold's story in more detail than the letters provide. He adds personal experiences with war buddies, in addition to an account of his precise movements during the war.

Access Restrictions

Tax returns containing sensitive information have been removed to restricted materials.

This collection is housed at UTSA's Main Campus and must be accessed via the John Peace Library Special Collections reading room. To request access, please use the Collections Request Form.

 Usage Restrictions

Permission to publish material from the Harold O. Lee Papers must be obtained from University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries Special Collections.

Organization of Collection Series 1. Correspondence 1.1. Letters by Harold O. Lee 1.2. Letters by Mr. or Mrs. Lee 1.3. Letters to Harold O. Lee 1.4. Letters to Mr. or Mrs. Lee 1.5. Telegrams by Harold O. Lee 1.6. Telegrams to Mr. or Mrs. Lee Series 2. Other Materials 2.1. Newspaper Clippings 2.2. Reminiscence By Harold O. Lee 2.3. Report Cards 2.4. Stamps 2.5. Tax Information for Norman S. Lee (RESTRICTED) Acquisition Information

Received as a gift from Lesli Hicks in 2005 (Acc. 2005-038).

 Processing Information

Processed by Megan A. Robida, June 2005.

 Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Harold O. Lee Papers, 1930-1990, MS 136, University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries Special Collections.

 Index Terms Personal Names Lee, Harold O. Organizations Stalag XVII B Krems-Gneixendorf. United States. Army. Air Corps. Subjects Prisoners of war--Germany. World War, 1939-1945--Prisoners and prisons, German. Genres/Formats Correspondence. Clippings. Telegrams. Detailed Description of the Collection Correspondence, 1942-1945

Arranged chronologically.

 Letters by Harold O. Lee 11 January 5, 1942-January 29, 1942 12 February 2, 1942-February 26, 1942 13 March 1, 1942-March 31, 1942 14 April 2, 1942-April 30, 1942 15 May 1, 1942-May 29, 1942 16 June 1, 1942-June 30, 1942 17 July 1, 1942-July 31, 1942 18 August 1, 1942-August 29, 1942 19 September 1, 1942-September 26, 1942 110 October 2, 1942-October 23, 1942 111 November 1, 1942-November 20, 1942 112 December 4, 1942-December 31, 1942 21 January 14, 1943-January 21, 1943 22 February 1, 1943-February 21, 1943 23 March 6, 1943-March 30, 1943 24 April 3, 1943-April 24, 1943 25 May 4, 1943-May 28, 1943 26 June 3, 1943-June 30, 1943 27 July 6, 1943-June 26, 1943 28 August 4, 1943-August 14, 1943 29 December 31, 1943 210 January 24, 1944-January 26, 1944 211 February 14, 1944-February 28, 1944 212 April 17, 1944 213 May 14, 1944 214 June 18, 1944-June 29, 1944 215 June 28, 1944 216 September 18, 1944 217 October 12, 1944-October 26, 1944 218 November 18, 1944 219 February 4, 1945 220 September 6, 1990 221 undated Letters by Mr. or Mrs. Lee 222 May 6, 1942-May 9, 1942 223 July 15, 1942-July 28, 1942 224 August 1, 1943-August 31, 1943 225 September 3, 1943-September 30, 1943 226 October 3, 1943-October 30, 1943 Letters to Harold O. Lee 227 September and November 1943 Letters to Mr. or Mrs. Lee 228 November 19, 1939 229 May 27, 1940 230 May 9, 1941-June 29, 1941-November 28, 1941 231 June 25, 1942 232 July 13, 1942-July 29, 1942 233 August 18, 1942-August 21, 1942 234 September 4, 1942-September 29, 1942 335 October 31, 1942 336 November 8, 1942 337 January 5, 1943-January 17, 1943 338 February 3, 1943-February 24, 1943 339 March 31, 1943 340 April 30, 1943 341 May 6, 1943 342 June 1, 1943-June 12, 1943 343 July 1, 1943-July 29, 1943 344 August 8, 1943 345 September 1943 346 October 13, 1943-October 30, 1943 31 November 9, 1943-November 21, 1943 32 December 13, 1943-December 27, 1943 33 January 1, 1944-January 26, 1944 34 February 4, 1944 35 March 30, 1944 36 April 12, 1944 37 May 1, 1944-May 11, 1944 38 June 20, 1944 39 July 19, 1944 310 August 12, 1944 311 September 23, 1944 312 October 13, 1944 313 December 13, 1944-December 21, 1944 314 February 12, 1945 315 June 22, 1943 316 Undated Telegrams by Harold O. Lee 320 July 6, 1942-January 16, 1943 and undated Telegrams to Mr. or Mrs. Lee 321 January 7, 1944-February 16, 1945 Other Materials, 1930-1941, 1997

Arranged alphabetically by format.

 317 Newspaper clippings, undated 318 Reminiscence by Harold O. Lee, March 1997 319 Report Cards, Harold O. Lee, 1930-1936 322 Stamps, undated 323 RESTRICTED: Tax information for Norman S. Lee, 1940-1941