Title: J. Birney Dibble Papers, Still Images, and Videorecordings
Inclusive Dates: 1943-2009

Creator:

• Dibble, J. Birney

Call Number: WVM Mss 1323

Quantity: 0.6 linear ft. (2 archives boxes and 1 oversized folder) of papers, 0.2 linear ft. (1 archives box and 1 negative flap) of photographs, 0.2 linear ft. (1 archives box) of slides, 0.1 linear ft. (3 folders) of paper prints, 2 videorecordings.

Repository:

Wisconsin Veterans Museum
Have questions? Contact the Reference Archivist

Archival Locations:

Wisconsin Veterans Museum (Map)

See the catalog entry for current shelf locations and additions.

Abstract:

Letters, newspaper clippings, ephemeral documents, still images, and video recordings pertaining to the service of J. Birney Dibble, a Eau Claire, Wisconsin resident who served as a surgeon in the United States Naval Reserve and was attached to Company E, 1st Medical Battalion of the 1st Marine Division during the Korean War. Originally from East Aurora, Illinois, Dibble enrolled in the Navy V-12 officer training program in 1943, and graduated from medical school at the University of Illinois in 1949. The majority of manuscripts are letters Dibble wrote to his wife, Edna (whom he addressed as Eddie in the letters), while serving in the Korean War. In the letters, Dibble describes the conditions he faced while serving on the front lines. The letters vary from descriptions of his unit experiencing long periods of inactivity, to Dibble being on surgical duty for days at a time without any breaks. He talks about recreational activities of his unit, such as participating in baseball and basketball games with other surgeons and medical staff. Some of the letters talk about combat, including letters from August 1952 discussing the Marine taking of Hill 122 (nicknamed Bunker Hill by soldiers). He also mentions witnessing a bomber crash (February 28-29, 1952), describes seeing an intense artillery barrage (April 30, 1952), and going on a “firefly run” to drop flares during night bombing runs (June 10th, 1952). Dibble also expresses how much he missed Edna and could not wait to return home to be with her. He often sent newspaper clippings and hand-drawn maps to show where he was stationed. Other letters in the collection were written by Dibble to his parents while attending Duke University as a pre-med student. These letters primarily discuss student life. Ephemeral documents include citations pertaining to Dibble being awarded a Bronze Star, a Thanksgiving Day menu, and two propaganda pamphlets written in Chinese. Oversized newspaper articles include two from the Korean War discussing the treatment of wounded soldiers and an editorial article written by Dibble in 1995 defending the usage of atomic weapons to end World War II. Also included are biographical information and an account written by Dibble about his experiences in Korea. Still images include slides, loose photographs, negatives, and scrapbook pages from Dibble's service in Korea. The scrapbook pages consist primarily of images of soldiers and fellow doctors relaxing around medical bases, and also of the local residents and landscape. There are also a few action shots of artillery bombardments and some images showing wounded soldiers being prepped for surgery. Loose images include an official photograph of a nurse taking care of a soldier, a shot of Dibble and other medical staff playing basketball, a bluegrass band that played for Company E, and a photo of Dibble posing while wearing a large tropical leaf. The slides were taken by Dibble while stationed in Korea. Included are combat shots, landscapes, local residents, and images of the base hospitals. There are also a few images of important political figures, maps of Korea, and surgical procedures. In later years, Dibble used the slides during public talks on the war. The videorecordings are of a documentary that Dibble made about the Korean War. He used his slide images for his documentary. The negatives are of three identified images in the scrapbook.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.wvm-mss01323

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J. Birney Dibble was born in Madras, India to missionary parents in 1925 and lived there for four years before his family returned to the United States and settled around Aurora, Illinois. He attended Duke University under the Navy V-12 Program in 1943 and was training for the invasion of Japan when World War II ended. Dibble completed his medical training at the University of Illinois in 1949 and took an internship with Cook County Hospital.

Dibble was called back into active duty after completion of his internship and was sent to Korea in 1952. He served as a surgeon with Company E, 1st Medical Battalion of the 1st Marine Division and was eventually promoted to unit commander. During his service, Dibble saw action along the front line and spent time on a medical ship before returning to the United States in 1953.

After the war, Dibble worked as a surgeon at Cook County Hospital before relocating to Eau Claire, Wisconsin in 1957 to start a private practice. He also served as a surgeon in mission hospitals in Africa and also served as the chief of surgery in a local Eau Claire hospital. Dibble left his private practice in 1980 and served in multiple global mission hospitals until officially retiring in 2001.

Dibble married his first wife, Edna, soon after graduating from medical school. They were married for fifty-two years and had two children, Eric and Barbara, before Edna's death in 2001. Dibble married his second wife, Margaret, in 2003. Dibble is also the author of seven books, including a historical fiction about the Korean War entitled The Taking of Hill 1052.

The J. Birney Dibble collection is divided into three series: Papers, Still Images, and Videorecordings.

Papers (1943-2009) are primarily letters Dibble wrote to his wife, Edna (whom he refers to as Eddie in the letters), while he was stationed in Korea. They span from when he first arrived in Korea (January 1952) to his departure from Japan (March 1953) and provide an excellent look into the daily activities of a surgeon serving on the front lines. Dibble often sent his wife newspaper articles along with the letters. These articles were kept with the letters. The other letters in the collection were written to his parents while he was attending Duke University. These letters mainly discuss his classes and studies. There is little discussion into any military training he received during this time.

Still Images (1952-1953) include slides, a photographic scrapbook, loose photographs, and negatives of images from the Korean War. The loose photographs and images in the scrapbook are all original photographs taken while Dibble was in Korea. Most of the slides are also original images. However, some images in the slides are published. Most of the published images are those of maps illustrating the movement of forces on the Korean peninsula and important people, such as Harry Truman and Kim Il Sung. They have been maintained in their original order used by Dibble during presentations he gave about the Korean War in later years. The scrapbook was dismantled per donor request for retention of the original cover. Photocopies of the original cover are maintained in the collection and the scrapbook pages are numbered and maintained in folders in their original order. The negatives are of identified images included in the photographic scrapbook.

Videorecordings (1995-2009) consist of a documentary Dibble made about the Korean War using the images from his slide collection. Dibble narrates the video and discusses the history of the conflict and also provides reminiscences about his service during the war. The order of the images in the documentary is identical to the original order of slides maintained in the collection. The collection includes a copy of the same documentary on two different formats: one copy is on VHS while the second is on DVD.

Acquisition Information

Presented by J. Birney Dibble, Eau Claire, WI, 1995-2009. Accession Number: TR0340, Mss 2006.542, Mss 2009.90..

Processing Information

Processed by Andrew J. Baraniak in 2009.

	Series: Papers
Box   1 Folder   1	Biographical Information, 2009
	Subseries: Correspondence	⇧
Box   1 Folder   2-14	To Eddie, 1952-1953
Box   2 Folder   1-13	To Parents, 1943-1945
Box   2 Folder   14	Citations, 1953
	Subseries: Ephemeral	⇧
Box   2 Folder   15	Menu, 1952
Box   2 Folder   16	Propaganda, 1952
Ov   27 Folder   13	Oversized Newspaper Articles, 1952-1995
	Series: Still Images	⇧
Box   3 Folder   1-8	Scrapbook, 1952-1953
Box   3 Folder   9	Loose Photographs, 1952
Paper Print   3 Folder   22-24	Slides (Color) , 1952-1953
Paper Print   3 Folder   24	Negatives, 1952
	Series: Videorecordings	⇧
Video   3 Folder   11	Videocassette, 1995
Box   5	DVD, 2009