William Fee Second World War correspondence

This collection contains 892 letters and correspondence from Private First Class William "Bill" Fee, United States Army and his parents, Dwight and Lucille Fee, during his service with the 11th Armored Division during the Second World War. Letters between William and his father make up the bulk of this collection, however this collection also includes letters from Dwight Fee, written to William's commanding officers and higher ranking military brass.

In William's letters, he writes about his daily experiences training for combat and his life in the Army. William also takes time to answer multiple questionnaires from his father, concerning many aspects of life in the service. Topics include weapons, tactics, supplies, uniforms and training routines.

William was wounded on March 6, 1945, when a nearby land mine exploded, while advancing his light machinegun up a hill, at night. He sustained a half-dozen slight wounds and one major wound in the groin, from shrapnel. He received treatment in England and at the Woodrow Wilson hospital, in Virginia. He was discharged from the hospital on September 20, 1945, but did not return to active duty.

Included in this collection is a transcription of a retrospective diary, written by William Fee, titled "With the Eleventh Armored Division in the Battle of the Bulge". In this diary, Fee gives a detailed account of his experience as a PFC (private first class), in the light machine gun squad of the 55th Armored Infantry Battalion, 11th Armored Division. This diary recounts the Ardennes campaign, December 1944 through January 1945. The diary focuses on the 11th Armored Divisions time in combat and provides some additional details of William’s military deployment.

NOTE: See also 2014-049-w-r Dwight Fee First World War correspondence, Series 3, for more materials by William Fee.