Guide to the Kenneth T. Combs letters
1943
Collection number: HMC-0815.
Creator: Combs, Kenneth T.
Title: Kenneth T. Combs letters.
Date: 1943.
Volume of collection: 0.01 cubic feet.
Language of materials: Materials in this collection are in English.
Collection summary: Letters written by a U.S. Army soldier stationed at Shemya Island.
Biographical note:
Kenneth T. Combs was from Kellogg, Idaho. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in Spokane, Washington, on March 2, 1942, and was stationed at Shemya Island, in the Aleutians, in 1943. Two of his friends from Kellogg, Bert E. Tylen and Ray Brown, were also stationed at Shemya. Kenneth Combs died in Oregon City, Oregon, in 1991.
Collection description:
The collection consists of two World War II era letters and a Christmas card written by Private Kenneth T. Combs from Shemya Island. The letters and card are addressed to a Henry and Joe (O’Neill) at Liberty Billiards in Kellogg, Idaho. The first letter, dated October 12, 1943, concerns Combs’ scheme, along with friends Bert Tylen and Ray Brown, to have their correspondents send them whiskey in time for the holidays. Combs also mentions that whiskey costs 125 dollars a quart when available, and that rum is not being rationed. He also gives the locations of three other soldiers from Kellogg. In the second letter, dated October 22, 1943, Combs asks his correspondents not to try and send him the whiskey, and relates that his unit is moving from temporary to permanent quarters. The Christmas card, sent November 10, 1943, is signed, “Luck from the Aleutians, Ken.”
Arrangement: The collection is arranged in chronological order.
Digitized copies: This collection has not been digitized. For information about obtaining digital copies, please contact Archives and Special Collections.
Rights note: Archives does not hold copyright to materials in this collection.
Preferred citation: Kenneth T. Combs letters, Archives and Special Collections, Consortium Library, University of Alaska Anchorage.
Related materials: Archives also holds the Bert E. Tylen World War II letters, HMC-0816.
Acquisition note: The collection was purchased via Internet auction in 2005.
Processing information: This collection was described by Jeffrey Sinnott in 2005. The guide to the collection was converted to current standard by Veronica Denison in 2015.