Frederick Hecht papers

The collection contains personal documents, photographs, newspaper clippings, yearbooks, and memorial ephemera concerning Private First Class Frederick Hecht. Hecht enlisted in the United States Army in 1941 at the age of 23 along with his two brothers and his sister. Hecht was killed on 17 April 1943 when a shell hit his foxhole during the invasion of North Africa. Most of the information in the collection concerns the interring of his remains en situ until 1944 when they were moved back to the United States for reburial. During his time in the 9th Division of the 47th Infantry stationed at Fort Bragg, Hecht was part of the Glee Club. The collection includes the booklets of songs he kept, as well as a Fort Bragg newspaper and a script for an event he took part in called, "Fort Bragg Salutes America."

The collection contains correspondence from Frederick Hecht to his mother and father; correspondence from another soldier, Gordon Sympson, regarding Hecht's death; correspondence to Frederick's nephew Michael about Frederick; photographs; personal documents like Hecht's facsimile birth certificate and his glee club songbook; certificates of donation to the Frederick Hecht Memorial Post in Spring Valley, New York; newspaper clippings from the Fort Bragg newsletter; newspaper clippings announcing Hecht's Silver Star and his death in combat; biographical documents; a memorial service register from Hecht's funeral; 2 copies of the 1941 9th Division, 47th Infantry Fort Bragg yearbook; Hecht's Purple Heart, Silver Star, and marksmanship medals; his military hats, badges, and patches; a deck of planespotting cards; a cigarette case; and a rolled panoramic photo.