Title: Jack R. DeWitt Papers and Photographs
Inclusive Dates: 1940-2000

Creator:

• DeWitt, Jack R.

Call Number: WVM Mss 581

Quantity: 0.8 linear ft. (2 archives boxes) of papers, and 0.8 linear ft. (1 archives box and 2 oversize boxes) of photographs.

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:

Papers and photographs of Jack R. DeWitt, an officer in the 14th Armored Division during World War II and with the Army Reserves until 1967. The collection consists largely of the military papers that DeWitt obtained throughout his military career including orders, forms, and reports. These papers do give some insight into service with the Army Reserves. Personal memoirs go into greater detail about his service from enlistment through retirement. DeWitt's interest in veterans organizations and general World War II history are evidenced by reunion materials and other veterans' reminiscences. The photographs include two large and well-captioned scrapbooks that document DeWitt's World War II service, along with some shots from post-war mountain warfare training at Camp Carson.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.wvm-mss00581

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Jack Richard DeWitt was born December 15, 1918 in Muskogee, Oklahoma. His family moved to Wisconsin in his youth and he graduated from Lancaster (Wisconsin) High School in 1936. He enrolled at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, received a bachelor's degree in economics in 1940, and immediately entered the law school. In 1942 he stood two credits short of a law degree and made an arrangement with the University whereby they waived the final two credits and his mandatory apprenticeship in exchange for DeWitt writing an extra paper and enlisting into the Army.

DeWitt joined the Army in March 1942 and did early training at Fort Sheridan, Illinois and Camp Chaffee, Arkansas. Later that year DeWitt attended Officer's Candidate School (OCS) at Fort Knox, Kentucky and was commissioned as an officer on December 12, 1942. Assigned to the 14th Armored Division, he went back to Camp Chaffee to train before being deployed to the European Theater.

In October 1944 DeWitt, a company commander in the 19th Armored Infantry Battalion, went over to Europe along with the rest of the 14th Armored Division. He served primarily in the Rhineland campaign, and won several prestigious awards including the Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star, and the British Military Cross. His unit helped to liberate the German concentration camp at Dachau, and DeWitt remained in Germany with occupation forces until returning to the United States in December 1945.

DeWitt remained with the Army, serving in the Reserves with the 84th Airborne Division and rising to the rank of brigadier general in 1966 before retiring in 1967. He served on the faculty of the University of Wisconsin Law School and remains a practicing attorney in Madison.

The papers of Jack R. DeWitt are divided into two series: Papers and Photographs.

Papers (1942-2000) consists largely of the military papers that DeWitt obtained throughout his Army career. These papers include orders, forms, and reports that document the bare bones of his service (e.g. movements, promotions) but do not go into much depth. The papers do provide some insight into service with the Army Reserves through the certificates, questionnaires, and training materials. DeWitt's memoirs and correspondence, which includes a few letters he wrote home during his World War II service, go into much greater detail about the specific aspects of his service. The memoirs in particular are quite comprehensive in describing his service from enlistment through retirement. Also included are various excerpts from reminiscences by other veterans, usually members of the 14th Armored Division, that DeWitt collected from newspapers, magazines, and books. These reminiscences generally treat upon a battle or issue that they shared with DeWitt. Reunion materials from the 14th Armored Division and the 19th Armored Infantry Battalion show DeWitt's interest and involvement in veterans organizations.

Photographs (1940-1977) contain two large and well-captioned photo scrapbooks that document DeWitt's service during World War II. The photographs focus on his overseas service in Germany and include many shots of ruined German towns, German prisoners of war, and German military equipment. There are also several shots of concentration camp survivors. The captions reflect DeWitt's feelings of anger and resentment toward the German forces. Other photos include uncaptioned shots of mountain warfare training at Camp Carson, Colorado and of reunions of the 14th Armored Division. Several shots of DeWitt in military uniform are also in the series.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Jack DeWitt, Madison, WI, 2002. Accession Number: Mss 2002.5 and Mss 2002.12. This collection was organized as a result of the National Historic Publications and Records Commission project grant (2003-075).

Processing Information

Processed by Russell Horton in 2004.

	Series: Papers
Box   1 Folder   1	Biographical data, undated
Box   1 Folder   2	Memoirs, 1982
Box   1 Folder   3	Correspondence, 1942-1945
	Subseries: Ephemera	⇧
Box   1 Folder   4	Bedroll tag, 1945
Box   1 Folder   5	Designation of company funds, 1945
Box   1 Folder   6	Fingerprint cards, 1958
Box   1 Folder   7	Flame-thrower talley-out, 1944
Box   1 Folder   8	Officers ration card, 1945
Box   1 Folder   9	“War News” from pants pocket, 1945
Box   1 Folder   10	Military papers, 1947-1975
	Active Duty forms
Box   1 Folder   11	Applications, 1949-1958
Box   1 Folder   12	Reports, 1952-1957
	Army Reserves
Box   1 Folder   13	National Guard units in Wisconsin, undated
Box   1 Folder   14	Qualification-Availability Questionnaire, 1950-1958
	Individual Performance Certificates
Box   1 Folder   15	Inactive Duty, 1954-1957
Box   1 Folder   16	Reserve Duty, 1949-1956
Box   1 Folder   17	Installation Clearance Certificates, 1953-1955
Box   1 Folder   18	Medals, Awards, and Commendations, 1942-1972
Box   1 Folder   19	Medical records, 1944-1969
	Orders
Box   1 Folder   20-23	Army, 1942-1972
Box   1 Folder   24	Army Reserves, 1956-1967
Box   1 Folder   25	Personal service records, 1942-1969
Box   2 Folder   1	Promotions, 1942-1966
Box   2 Folder   2	Regulations, 1950, 1964
Box   2 Folder   3	Retirement, 1950-1979
Box   2 Folder   4	Annual retirement points statements, 1949-1953
Box   2 Folder   5	Training/Coursework, 1943-1964
Box   2 Folder   6	Academic Report, 1957
Box   2 Folder   7	Officer's Training notebook, undated
	Vouchers
Box   2 Folder   8	Pay, 1943-1967
Box   2 Folder   9	Travel, 1953-1964
	Subseries: Newsclippings	⇧
Box   2 Folder   10	Army Reserves, 1954-1967
Box   2 Folder   11	Fourteenth Armored Division, [1945-1995]
Box   2 Folder   12	Veterans, 1975, 1995
Box   2 Folder   13	Newsletters, 1967-1979
	Subseries: Reminiscences	⇧
Box   2 Folder   14	John Alford, 1997
Box   2 Folder   15	Michael Auer, 1947
Box   2 Folder   16	Leonard Bessman, 1988-2000
Box   2 Folder   17	Joseph Carter, 1945
Box   2 Folder   18	George Falconer, 1984
Box   2 Folder   19	Herbert Forsman, 1990
Box   2 Folder   20	Ralph Immell, 1954
Box   2 Folder   21	Roy Lohof, 1995-1999
Box   2 Folder   22	E.M. Lynch, undated
Box   2 Folder   23	Ted Perkins, 1989-1990
Box   2 Folder   24	Chuck Siebold, 1945, undated
Box   2 Folder   25	Howard Trammell, circa 1990
Box   2 Folder   26	Oscar Voight, 1945
	Subseries: Veterans Organizations	⇧
	Fourtheenth Armored Division
Box   2 Folder   27	Commemorative envelopes, 1985
Box   2 Folder   28	Literature, 1963, 1989, 1996
Box   2 Folder   29	Programs, 1971-1995
Box   2 Folder   30	Nineteenth Armored Infantry Battalion, 1971-1995
	Series: Photographs	⇧
Box   3 Folder   1	Jack DeWitt [5] , undated
Box   3 Folder   2	Ralph Immell [2] , undated
Box   4 Folder   1	Oversize [1] , undated
	Subseries: Military Photographs	⇧
Box   3 Folder   3-9	Moutain Warfare Training, Camp Carson, Colorado [32] undated
Box   4 Folder   2	National War College [1] , 1963
Box   4 Folder   3	Scrapbook, 1940-1945
Box   5 Folder   1	Scrapbook, 1944-1945
	Subseries: Veterans Organizations	⇧
Paper Print Box   4 Folder   23-26	Fourteenth Armored Division, Reunions, [circa 1950-1977]