A collection of North Carolina military installation camp newsletters and newspapers from World War II are now available online as part of the State Archives of North Carolina’s Military Collection. As part of a two-year digitization project begun in 2018 to commemorate the 75th anniversary of World War II, the State Archives has been digitizing unique, and in some cases, complete runs of newsletter issues published by military officials and various base units during the war, such as Camp Lejeune, Camp Davis, Morris Field, and Elizabeth City Naval Air Station.
Most of these newsletters were collected between 1942 and 1947 by the State Archives, sent from the various military base public relations offices or soldiers stationed at those installations. The newsletters have been available for use by the public at the State Archives since 1947 for research. However, the State Archives saw a need to place all of the newsletters online in order to increase statewide, national, and international use of their invaluable information.
Many of these newsletters were informally published by various units while briefly stationed at bases such as Fort Bragg. Much of the information and news leaned toward a more humorous and playful side. One of the most important things about the newsletters is that they contain names of individuals in military units, civilian workers in various departments on base, female civilian and military personnel working at the installations, and news of casualties formerly stationed at those bases.
These newsletters also contain information regarding military entertainment, parades, and sports that were held on and off base for civilians in the communities surrounding the military installations. They contain little-known information about life in North Carolina during WWII.
All the newsletters have been digitized and placed in the North Carolina Digital Collections (NCDC) — a joint effort of the State Archives of North Carolina and State Library of North Carolina — at https://bit.ly/2FDUyxS. To view the newsletters, visit the State Archives Search Room, Tuesday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.