Guide to the Louis C. Stromp papers
1942-1946
Collection number: HMC-0941.
Creator: Stromp, Louis C.
Title: Louis C. Stromp papers.
Dates: 1942-1946.
Volume of collection: 0.7 cubic feet.
Language of materials: Materials in the collection are in English.
Collection summary: Papers of a soldier who served as a transportation officer on the USAT William L. Thompson during World War II.
Biographical note:
Louis Charles Stromp was born in New Jersey in 1909. He enlisted in the U. S. Army in Newark, New Jersey, on August 8, 1942. Stromp trained as a medic at the 45th Evacuation Hospital at Fort Gordon, Georgia, until April 1943, when he entered Officers Candidate School (OCS) at State College, Mississippi. After completing OCS, he trained at the Port of Embarkation at New Orleans, Louisiana, before assignment to the Water Division of the Seattle Port of Embarkation as an officer in the Transportation Corps. From July 1943 to September 1945, Stromp served as the transportation officer onboard the USAT William L. Thompson for voyages from Seattle to ports in Alaska. While still in the service, he married Ruth I. Weck of Newark, New Jersey, on May 16, 1945. He was released from active duty at Fort Lewis, Washington, in February 1946. Louis Stromp died in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, in 2001.
Collection description:
The collection consists of the World War II era papers of U. S. Army Transportation Corps officer, Louis C. Stromp. The collection contains: letters (sent and received), memoranda, orders, promotion papers, award letters, pay and allowance forms, leave documents, property documents, personnel records, two photographs, notes and records from U. S. Army schools, and various papers from service as the transportation officer on the USAT William L. Thompson. The majority of the letters are from Stromp to his mother and his fiancée Ruth Weck in New Jersey. Stromp’s papers from his service as transportation officer on the Thompson include: cargo letters, cargo manifests, cargo security officer’s reports, hatch reports, cargo voyage reports, baggage records, commissary records, a crew list, hatch lists, receipts for classified documents, ships records, stowage plans, vessel movement reports, and voyage logs (handwritten). Destinations of the ship included Vancouver, Prince Rupert, Seward, Port Heiden, Funter Bay, Whittier, Kodiak, Dutch Harbor, Chernofski, Nome, St. Paul Island, St. George Island, Adak, Attu, Shemya, Kiska, and Amchitka.
Arrangement: The collection is arranged by type of material.
Digitized copies: This collection has not been digitized. For information about obtaining digital copies, please contact Archives and Special Collections.
Rights note: Archives and Special Collections does not own copyright to the collection.
Preferred citation: Louis C. Stromp papers, Archives and Special Collections, Consortium Library, University of Alaska Anchorage.
Separated materials: Published materials have been removed from the collection and added to the Consortium Library’s Rare Books collection and can be found in the library catalog
Acquisition note: Archives and Special Collections purchased the collection on eBay in 2007.
Processing information: This collection was described by Jeffrey A. Sinnott in 2007. The guide to the collection was converted to current standard and publications removed by Gwen Sieja in 2017.
Container list:
| Box/Folder | Description | Date |
| 1/1 | Letters sent to mother, Mrs. R. Stromp | 1942 August 30- 1943 June 13 |
| 1/2-4 | Letters sent to Ruth Weck in Newark, New Jersey | 1943 January 3-1945 April 22 |
| 1/5 | Letter received from William H. Taylor, in Darien, Connecticut, sent to Transportation Corps, Cargo Operations Branch, SPE, Seattle, Washington | 1944 January 13 |
| 1/6 | Letters received from Ruth Weck, in Newark, New Jersey | 1944 October 29- 1945 April 22 |
| 1/7 | Letters received by Ruth Weck, in Newark, New Jersey, from G. Evertz in Gardena, California and Florence Welter in Irvington | 1942, 1944 |
| 1/8 | Memoranda | 1943 July-1946 February |
| 1/9 | Orders | 1943 June-1946 February |
| 1/10 | Promotion papers: Certificate for promotion to Technician Fifth Grade; Letter of temporary appointment to the rank of Second Lieutenant; message of promotion to rank of First Lieutenant; memoranda of temporary appointment to the rank of Captain | 1942-1946 |
| 1/11 | Award letters: Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal; American Theater Campaign Medal; Overseas Service Bar; Bronze Service Star; Letter of appreciation | 1944-1946 |
| 1/12 | Documents concerning Lt. Stromp’s recommendation that Captain Kenneth M. Simpson, USAT William L. Thompson, receive the Emblem of Exceptional Civilian Service, for actions taken during the rescue of survivors from the wreck of the SS John P. Gaines on November 24 and 25, 1943 | 1944 |
| 1/13 | Pay and allowance account forms | 1943 July-1945 December |
| 1/14 | Leave documents | 1943-1945 |
| 1/15 | Property documents | 1943-1946 |
| 1/16 | Personnel papers (draft board notices, motor vehicle permits, reports, vouchers) | undated, 1942-1946 |
| 1/17 | Photographs: portrait of Louis Stromp in uniform, ceremony with military band | undated, 1942 |
| 1/18 | Cargo letters | 1944 April-September |
| 1/19 | Cargo manifests for USAT William L. Thompson | undated, 1943 December-1944 September |
| 1/20 | Cargo Security Officer’s reports | 1943 December 21-1944 October 2 |
| 1/21 | Cargo Security Officer’s Hatch Reports of Time Consumed at Destination in Discharging Seattle No. SE-937 | 1943 December-1944 January |
| 1/22 | Cargo voyage reports for USAT William L. Thompson | 1944 July 13-October 11 |
| 1/23 | Cargo and baggage records | 1943-1945 |
| 1/24 | Commissary records | 1943-1945 |
| 1/25 | Crew list for USAT William L. Thompson, Voyage No. 6 | 1943 |
| 1/26 | Hatch lists (Galena, Kodiak, Nome, Prince Rupert, Whittier, Umnak, etc.) | undated |
| 1/27 | Railroad transportation records | 1946 January |
| 1/28 | Receipts for classified documents | 1944 January-August |
| 1/29 | Receipts for firefighting equipment | 1944 September-1946 January |
| 1/30 | Ships records | 1943 December-1944 January |
| 1/31 | Stowage plans for USAT William L. Thompson, voyages, 9, 10, 11 | 1944 March 12- October 2 |
| 1/32 | Vessel movements reports for USAT William L. Thompson, voyages 11 and 12 | 1944 July-October |
| 1/33 | Voyage logs: Stromp’s personal handwritten logs | 1943-1945 |
| 1/34 | Supply course notes and forms | 1943 |
| 1/35 | Army schools notes and papers | 1942-1943 |