Citing personally held WWII Military Documents

By argel on Thu, 12/17/2020 - 10:01

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Hello! I have a folder of about 200 pages that has my grandfather's WWII military documents as well as forms filled out post-WWII. It's clearly part his service record requested in 1962 but I think there are other military documents he might have added so it's not quite a compiled service record? I'm feeling a bit lost in how to cite it and would love some advice.
 
To figure this out I've been reviewing EE section 3, as well as section 11.32-11.40. I've also read 

Here's my stab at citing a few different kinds of pages found in the file and wonder if you could help me out here? I don't know if I'm on the right base at all. 

Example 1 [image]

Military folder of Lieutenant Charles Salmon Brand, D(L), 226441, USNR, WWII; Orders for Change of Duty, United States Atlantic Fleet, Amphibious Training Base, Little Creek, Virginia, enclosed in letter from M.C. Wade (The Commanding Officer) to Ensign Robert W. Hargrave, D-V(G), USNR (29 May 1943); File FE25-4/P16-4(4)/MM/OO; Privately held by [NAME REDACTED], ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE, [LOCATION], 2020. The folder of military documents was passed from Charles Brand's wife [Name] to their son [Name] upon [Wife's] death in 1982. The documents were scanned by [Name] in 2020.

Example 2 [image]

Military folder of Lieutenant Charles Salmon Brand, D(L), 226441, USNR, WWII; Communication from Commander Amphibious Forces, Pacific Fleet (ComPhibsPac) received by U.S.S. Chilton, Commander Transport Squadron (17 September 1945); No. 160740; Privately held by [NAME REDACTED], ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE, [LOCATION], 2020. The folder of military documents was passed from Charles Brand's wife [Name] to their son [Name] upon [Wife's] death in 1982. The documents were scanned by [Name] in 2020.

Example 3 [image]

Military folder of Lieutenant Charles Salmon Brand, D(L), 226441, USNR, WWII; Annual Qualifications Questionnaire - Inactive Reserve (NAVPERS 319) (17 October 1953); Privately held by [NAME REDACTED], ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE, [LOCATION], 2020. The folder of military documents was passed from Charles Brand's wife [Name] to their son [Name] upon [Wife's] death in 1982. The documents were scanned by [Name] in 2020.

Questions:

  • I'm not sure whether "Military folder" is the right wording to use. It's an envelope that says Service Record but is clearly more than just that. Any advice?
  • Does the general template look OK for the citations?
  • Are there other corrections to the citations that you would make?
  • What should I do with documents like Example 3 that were from after he was placed on inactive reserve status or letters from the VA? Should this get cited as part of the same folder using the same citation template? 
  • What would the bibliography and the subsequent reference look like? 

Attempts:

Source citation [all of the above]: Military folder of Lieutenant Charles Salmon Brand, D(L), 226441, USNR, WWII; [Location where physical copies are held], 2020.

Subsequent notice [example 2]: Lt. C.S. Brand, USNR; Communication from ComPhibsPac received by U.S.S. Chilton, Commander Transport Squadron (17 September 1945).

Thank you in advance!

Submitted byEEon Thu, 12/17/2020 - 18:50

Argel, without access to this file you inherited, it would be foolhardy for me to say "Perfect! Run with it!" There are too many unknowns. What I can say is this:

1. You appear to understand the essential elements that need to be cited.

2. The basic, longstanding U.S. format for citing documents in files is to cite the document first, with date and place, then move up to the next largest level (the file), then up to the next largest level (the location where it is housed.)  EE 3.3. I note that you've chosen to cite the file first, then the document, before switching directions to move up to the location. Is that because you want to make the file your "master source"? 

3. Bibliographies do not ordinary cite individual documents. The smallest element is most often the "collection" level. Given that you suspect that the file contains more than just his military service record, have you considered renaming that "file" as, say, "Military Papers Collection, Lieutenant Charles Salmon Brand," then organize the material into smaller folders that cover (a) the documents that appear to belong to the service record supplied in 1962; and (b) miscellaneous documents that you think would not be part of the service record.  If you were confident that all of these documents were supplied in 1962 in response to his request for his service record, then you would not want to separate out any papers from the original packet. But if it appears that family members since 1962 have not kept the "service record" packet pure and in proper sequence as an archive would, then your sorting those records would be justifiable.

4. How you would construct a Source List Entry (bibliographic entry) will depend upon what you decide about Points 2 and 3. However, your Source List Entry would not include "[all of the above]" as you seem to suggest toward the end of your questions.

EE's Chapter 2 has basic guidance for constructing Source Lists, beginning at 2.47.

5. Other corrections? EE would pick one nit: the use of capitalization for the phrase "privately held by." That phrase does not start a sentence. Ergo, the "p" should be lower-case.

Thank you so much! Your answer is very thoughtful and extremely helpful. 

I took a few days to try to really absorb what you've said. I'd like to try again with one of the documents and also to ask you a few follow-up questions about the document layer of the citation. 

Example 1 [image]

Source List Entry

Military Papers Collection, Lieutenant Charles Salmon Brand, 226441, USNR, WWII. Privately held by [Dad], ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE, [Place], 2020.

First Reference Note

Orders for Change of Duty, United States Atlantic Fleet, Amphibious Training Base, Little Creek, Virginia, enclosed in letter from M.C. Wade (The Commanding Officer) to Ensign Robert W. Hargrave, D-V(G), USNR, 29 May 1943; Navy file no. FE25-4/P16-4(4)/MM/OO; folder: "Loose papers, active duty, 1943-Feb 1946." Military Papers Collection, Lieutenant Charles Salmon Brand, 226441, USNR, WWII; privately held by [Name], ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE, [Place], 2020. The folder of military documents was passed from [Grandpa]’s wife [Grandma] to their son [Dad] upon [Grandma]’s death in 1982. The documents were scanned by [Dad]’s daughter [Argel] in 2020.

Subsequent Note

Orders for Change of Duty, encl. in letter Wade to Hargrave, 29 May 1943.

------------

Is there anything that you would do differently above or anything that you feel I missed from your original response?

------------

Follow up questions about the document layer of the citation:

Orders for Change of Duty, United States Atlantic Fleet, Amphibious Training Base, Little Creek, Virginia, enclosed in letter from M.C. Wade (The Commanding Officer) to Ensign Robert W. Hargrave, D-V(G), USNR, 29 May 1943; Navy file no. FE25-4/P16-4(4)/MM/OO)

  • Because this is not a standard letter I didn't including the location in parentheses the way you suggest on p.109 for a privately held letter. Is this still giving the needed information in a clear way?
  • Is there a general approach I should be taking for structuring the document portion of a military citation to make sure it's consistent and clear?
  • Is all the information there needed or is there too much info that bogs it down?
  • Is it helpful to have the Navy file number and, if so, should it be separated by a semicolon or is that only for separation the different layers of the citation?

Thank you again for all of your help!

 

Submitted byargelon Wed, 12/23/2020 - 10:04

Second try incorporating the location perhaps a bit better?

Orders for Change of Duty, enclosed in letter from M.C. Wade (The Commanding Officer, United States Atlantic Fleet, Amphibious Training Base, Little Creek, Virginia) to Ensign Robert W. Hargrave, D-V(G), USNR, 29 May 1943; Navy file no. FE25-4/P16-4(4)/MM/OO; folder: "Loose papers, active duty, 1943-Feb 1946." Military Papers Collection, Lieutenant Charles Salmon Brand, 226441, USNR, WWII; privately held by [Dad], ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE, [Place], 2020. The folder of military documents was passed from [Grandpa]’s wife [Grandma] to their son [Dad] upon [Grandma]’s death in 1982. The documents were scanned by [Dad]’s daughter [Argel] in 2020.

Submitted byEEon Mon, 12/28/2020 - 10:57

Argel, you've done an excellent job of thinking through the issues. As for the navy file number, I am not an expert on U.S. navy military records. Craig Roberts Scott, CG, could better advise you as to whether that is essential. As a general rule: when in doubt as to whether to include a number from a file or a document, include it—making sure that it is clear what the number represents. In our working files, it is always better to have extra data than insufficient data.