Collection Contents

Physical Description: 2 boxes

This series documents San Jose State College students and faculty who served in the armed forces during World War I and World War II. The series is comprised of biographical index cards that include individual names, place of birth, rank/branch of service, military training locations, date of service discharge, and death dates.

The index card files are arranged alphabetically by surname, and box two includes categories related to women in service, gold stars, and prisoners.

Physical Description: 3 boxes

This series contains four memorial flags created in honor of San Jose State College students and faculty who served in the armed forces in World War II. During the war, a blue star was stenciled on a flag whenever a member of the SJSC community entered the armed forces. Each of the more than 4,500 stars is identified with an individual's name. A gold star, superimposed on the appropriate blue star, marks each sacrifice of life. In total, there are 204 gold stars on the flags. The large gold star on "Flag One" memorializes President Franklin Roosevelt. In addition, the series includes four ledgers that list the names of each student or faculty member honored on the memorial flags.

For many years, the flags were preserved in the Spartan Memorial Chapel located on the SJSC campus. The chapel serves as a monument to the two hundred SJSC service members killed in WWII. Funded by financial contributions from alumni, students, faculty and friends of the university, the chapel's construction began in 1949 and was completed in 1952. The Memorial Chapel is still in existence today, and is commonly utilized for events such as weddings and initiations for student organizations on campus.

This series is arranged by format.

Physical Description: 2 boxes

The materials in this series include a United Service Organizations (USO) scrapbook documenting various social events and gatherings held on the SJSC campus in the 1940s, as well as a guest book with signatures of service men and women who attended Sunday evening Open Houses at the Student Union in 1944 and 1945. In addition, the series includes a Handbook for Americans (Rand McNally and Company, 1943), which contains information regarding the President of the United States, the Monroe Doctrine, and the United States Constitution. The series also includes a mimeographed document with indexed lists of SJSC faculty and students in the armed forces, the names of individuals listed as gold stars on the memorial flags, and information pertaining to the Memorial Chapel.

This series is arranged by format.