Byron Armbruster papers

The Byron Armbruster World War II papers are a remarkable collection of letters written to his parents and also to his girlfriend and later, his wife, Eloise Higgins. They are remarkable as they detail the life of a soldier in the 82nd, and later the 101st Airborne Division of the U.S. Army, as he is trained, transferred to England, sent to Normandy for the D-Day Allied invasion, returned to England, sent to Belgium for what would become known as the Battle of Bastogne, and ends at Berchtesgaden when Germany surrenders. Although many of his letters are censored V-mail, they still provide excellent documentation of the war in Europe.

In addition to the letters he wrote home, the collection includes letters written to his parents from other soldiers, letters written to Eloise from an English woman who married a good friend of Byron's while stationed in England, and a letter Byron wrote to the parents of a friend who died at Normandy. All of the letters date from 1943 to 1945.

Photocopies of scrapbooks kept by Byron are also part of the collection. These scrapbooks include photographs, official documents and newspaper articles, all of which help document his World War II experiences.