Conditions Governing Access
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Biographical / Historical
General
Preferred Citation
Content Description
Conditions Governing Use
Contributing Institution:
Center for American War Letters Archives
Title: Herbert L. Claassen Second World War correspondence
source:
Partner née Claassen, Margaret
Creator:
Claassen, Herbert L., Private First Class, 1917-1945
Identifier/Call Number: 2019.030.w.r
Physical Description:
0.01 Linear Feet
(1 folder)
Date: 1944 September 23
Abstract: This collection contains two letters written by Pvt. Herbert L. Claassen, USA to his parents during the Second World War.
Language of Material:
English
.
Container: WWII 146
Container: 17
Container: 1
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Margaret Partner (Claassen)
Biographical / Historical
Private First Class Herbert L. Claassen, United States Army (6/17/1917 - 3/10/1945) was born near Byron, Illinois and lived
on a farm five miles out of town with German parents, Henry and Ella Claassen, and his five brothers Henry, Charlie, Alfred,
Edward, and Donald (Alfred was the father of the donor of the collection). The family moved to Lorraine, Oregon in late 1939.
Henry had emigrated from Germany through Ellis Island in the 1920s.
PFC Claassen enlisted in the Army on February 1, 1944. He served with Company B 310th Infantry 78th Division and was killed
in Germany on March 10, 1945. He was one of four of the brothers that served during the war. Alfred flew 45 bombing missions
over the Pacific and was stationed in New Guinea. Edward served in the Army and Donaled in the Navy.
According to the donor, Herbert's niece, her father and his younger brother Alfred "Al" also served. He was a gunner aboard
a B-24 in the Pacific Theater with 50 completed combat missions and was awarded the air medal with two oak leaf clusters.
General
This collection is not accompanied by a donation form.
Preferred Citation
[Item title / description; Box "n" / Folder "n"], Herbert L. Claassen Second World War correspondence (2019.030.w.r), Center
for American War Letters Archives, Chapman University, CA.
For the benefit of current and future researchers, please cite any additional information about sources consulted in this
collection, including permanent URLs, item or folder descriptions, and box/folder locations.
Content Description
This collection contains two letters written by Pvt. Herbert L. Claassen, USA to his parents during the Second World War.
The two letters were written the same day from a camp near Richmond, presumably in Virginia. He mentioned going to a boxing
match where the fighters were very good, one even having fought Joe Louis. He wrote again after the boxing match and was seeing
a band with a few men from Oregon, where his parents were living at the time.
Conditions Governing Use
There are no restrictions on the use of this material except where previously copyrighted material is concerned. It is the
responsibility of the researcher to obtain all permissions.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
World War (1939-1945)
Military training camps
Partner née Claassen, Margaret