Guide to the Lee W. Mayo Collection, 1941-1945
Special Collections & Archives
Oviatt Library
California State University, Northridge
Oviatt Library
California State University, Northridge
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Northridge, CA 91330
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Collection Title: Lee W. Mayo Collection
Dates: 1941-1945
Identification: SC/LWM
Creator:
Mayo, Lee W., 1915-2006
Physical Description:
0.21 linear feet
Language of Materials:
English
Repository:
Special Collections
Abstract: Lee Mayo enlisted in the US Army in
October of 1941, just before Pearl Harbor Day. He kept a diary, titled "My Life in
the Service" between July 23, 1944 and December 18, 1945, while moving around the
South Pacific. He spent most of that time in the Philippines, fighting in the Battle of
Manila in 1945, but also visited and wrote about other locations on Luzon and Leyte. He
writes about such things as Japanese suicide bombers attacking his ship, Japanese
soldiers committing suicide to avoid being captured, civilian populations on some of the
islands they stop on, bartering and attending boxing matches with Australian soldiers,
and personal illnesses including "jungle rot" and "yellow
jaundice."
Note:
This collection was purchased with funds generously donated by Gus and Erika
Manders.
Lee W. Mayo was born in 1915, and lived in Baxter, Pennsylvania with his wife, Dorothy.
He enlisted in the US Army in October of 1941, and served until 1945.
This Collection is indexed under the following controlled access subject terms.
Diaries
Ephemera
Photographic material
Copyright for unpublished materials authored or otherwise produced by the creator(s)
of this collection has not been transferred to California State University,
Northridge. Copyright status for other materials is unknown. Transmission or
reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond
that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners.
Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of
the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.
The collection is open for research use.
For information about citing items in this collection consult the appropriate style
manual, or see the
Citing Archival Materials
guide.
Lee Mayo enlisted in the US Army in October of 1941, just before Pearl Harbor Day. He
kept a diary, titled "My Life in the Service" between July 23, 1944 and
December 18, 1945, while moving around the South Pacific. He spent most of that time in
the Philippines, fighting in the Battle of Manila in 1945, but also visited and wrote
about other locations on Luzon and Leyte.
Mayo starts by listing several of his "Buddies in the Service," and goes on to
write about such things as Japanese suicide bombers attacking his ship, Japanese
soldiers committing suicide to avoid being captured, civilian populations on some of the
islands they stop on, bartering and attending boxing matches with Australian soldiers,
personal illnesses including "jungle rot" and "yellow jaundice," his
fellow soldiers, K-rations, and the weather. The diary also includes loose and pasted-in
ephemera, his "Soldier's Individual Pay Record," and immunization
records, with the ending pages filled with pasted-in photographs of a woman and
children, many posed in front of a house.
Collection Contents
Box 1, Folder 1
Clippings
Box 1, Folder 2
Correspondence, 1944
Box 1, Folder 3
Diary, "My Life in the Service", 1944-1945
Box 1, Folder 4
Service Records, 1941-1944