Joseph M. Fisher scrapbook and photographs
Scope and Contents
This collection includes a scrapbook compiled by Vanchie Fisher about her son’s experience in the Army. The scrapbook is made up primarily of letters from Fisher to his parents. The corresponding envelopes are still in the scrapbook. The letters were written from December 1942 until October 1945, with the bulk of the letters occurring between January 1943 and August 1945. The letters' content is primarily discussions about family matters, events in Muncie and news about Fisher in the military. Other materials included in the collection are mementos sent home by Fisher that were not fastened to the scrapbook, inserts from envelopes containing allotment checks and newspaper clippings Joseph had sent home. Also included with the collection are copies of Fisher's military discharge papers and historical information about the 607 Tank Destroyer Battalion.
P.264 includes digital copies of four photograph albums documenting Fisher's military service. The albums were organized by Fisher and his wife Mary Catherine (Cabel) Fisher. The first three folders contain printed sheets with the individual scanned pictures arranged in numerical order. The fourth folder is a print-out of scans of Mr. Fisher’s photo album. All of the sheets have reference numbers on the back, which correlate with the file names of the digital images. The files are all in the TIFF format, at least 300 dpi and have been copied to a DVD contained in the box. The original photos are still the property of Mr. Fisher and his family.
Dates
- 1942 - 1945
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Copyright Notice
Legal title, copyright, and literary rights reside with Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries, Muncie, IN. All requests to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted to Archives and Special Collections.
Biographical Note
Joseph Morton Fisher was born on February 15, 1922 in Summitville, Indiana to Arthur Conroy and Vanchie Dell Fisher. The Fisher family soon moved to Muncie, Indiana and Joseph graduated from Muncie Central High School in 1939. Fisher was inducted into the United States Army on December 23, 1942 and assigned him to the 607th Tank Destroyer Battalion four days later at Camp Hood, Texas. The 607th was training at Camp San Luis Obispo and in the Mojave Desert when Joseph and Mary Catherine Kabel (b. June 4, 1924 in Randolph County, Indiana) were married on April 11, 1943. The 607th was then moved to Camp Cooke in Santa Maria, California until the Battalion was called upon for overseas duty in March 1944.
Fisher and the 607th received further training in England in between April and June 1944 before going into battle on Utah Beach in Normandy on June 17, 1944. The 607th swiftly cut across France and Germany through 1944 and 1945, with Fisher serving much of his time as an anti-tank gun crewman. Fisher was promoted to Private First Class in December 1944, Corporal in May 1945 and Sergeant in June 1945. Fisher earned the American Theater Ribbon, the Good Conduct Ribbon, the Victory Medal, and the European Theater Ribbon with five major battle stars for service in Normandy, Northern France, the Ardennes, the Rhineland and Central Europe. Fisher also earned the Purple Heart for wounds received in action on April 21, 1945. Fisher finally returned home to Muncie on November 9, 1945 and was honorably discharged at Camp Atterbury, Indiana on December 2, 1945.
Extent
1.5 Cubic Feet (4 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
Arranged in the following series:
Series 1: Joseph M. Fisher correspondence, 1942-1945
Series 2: Joseph M. Fisher newspaper clippings and printed ephemera, ca. 1940s
Series 3: Joseph M. Fisher scrapbook, 1942-1945
Series 4: Joseph M. Fisher photograph albums, 1942-1945
Custodial History
The Joseph M. Fisher World War II Scrapbook was received by Archives and Special Collections as a donation from Joseph Morton Fisher on 2007/07/13.
Accruals
No further additions are expected.
Existence and Location of Copies
Digital reproductions of the Joseph M. Fisher Scrapbook and Photographs are available electronically through the Ball State University Libraries' Digital Media Repository.
Processing Information
Collection processing completed 2008/4 by A. Frohberg. Finding aid revised 2008 and 2009 by Maren L. Read. Finding aid revised 2009/05/18 by Rachel N. Miller. EAD finding aid completed 2009/05/20 by Maren L. Read.
- Buchenwald (concentration camp) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Clippings Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Correspondence Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Documents Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Fort Benjamin Harrison (Ind.) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Fort Hood (Tex.) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Military education Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Muncie (Ind.) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Photograph albums Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Scrapbooks Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Stoeckel Archives of Local History Subject Source: Local sources
- World War, 1939-1945 Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Campaigns -- France -- Normandy Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Title
- Joseph M. Fisher World War II scrapbook and photographs
- Status
- Completed
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
Repository Details
Part of the Stoeckel Archives of Local History Repository
Alexander M. Bracken Library
2000 W. University Avenue
Muncie Indiana 47306 USA
libarchives@bsu.edu
