Carleton Elliott Simensen Military Heritage Collection, 1862-

Carleton Elliott Simensen Military Heritage Collection

Printer-friendly |

Collection Overview

Title: Carleton Elliott Simensen Military Heritage Collection, 1862-

ID: OGLMC1278

Extent: 11.0 Linear Feet

Arrangement: The first series documents the life of Carleton Elliott Simensen. The remaining series are arranged in chronological order, with any sub-series arranged in alphabetical order.

Subjects: Military History

Languages: English, German

Abstract

Military history materials from the United States Civil War to the Persian Gulf War

Collection Historical Note

The collection is named after Carleton Elliott "Sim" Simensen, born January 25, 1919, in Grandin, North Dakota. After graduating from Grandin High School in 1936, Simensen attended the University of North Dakota. While at UND, Simensen played basketball and was a member of the Scabbard and Blade, Blue Key, and Iron Mask fraternities. In 1940, he graduated with a bachelor's degree in Commerce and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps. He graduated from the Marine Officers Basic School in February 1941, after which he served as a Minneapolis recruiter for the Marines. His recruiting duties also brought him back to UND. In June 1941, he reported to San Diego, where Simensen was assigned duty aboard the battleship USS Arizona. He was killed during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, on December 7, 1941. Carleton Elliott "Sim" Simensen was the first UND graduate to be killed in action during World War II.

Subject/Index Terms

Military History

Administrative Information

Repository: Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections

Access Restrictions: Open for inspection under the rules and regulations of the Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections.

Acquisition Method: The Carleton Elliott Simensen Military Heritage Collection was created by the Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections to solicit materials documenting how North Dakota and the surrounding region were affected by wars and military conflicts.

Preferred Citation: (Description of Item). Carleton Elliott Simensen Military Heritage Collection. OGLMC 1278, Box #, Folder #. Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections. Chester Fritz Library. University of North Dakota, Grand Forks.

Finding Aid Revision History: The finding aid was significantly revised by Heather Mohr, Special Collections intern, in March 2012, and added to Archon at that time.

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Series:

[Series 1: Carleton Elliott Simensen, 1919-1941],
[Series 2: Civil War, 1861-1865],
[Series 3: Spanish American War, 1898-1899],
[Series 4: WW I, 1914-1918],
[Series 5: Second Sino-Japanese War, 1937],
[Series 6: WW II Pacific Theater],
[Series 7: WW II Europe and North Africa],
[Series 8: WW II Home-Front],
[Series 9: Korean War, 1950-1953],
[Series 10: Vietnam War, 1953-1975],
[Series 11: Persian Gulf War, 1990-1991],
[All]

Series 5: Second Sino-Japanese War, 1937

Not to be confused with the First Sino-Japenese War of 1894-1895, the Second Sino-Japeanese War was the largest Asian war in the 20th century, and was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor (1941), the war merged into the greater conflict of World War II as a major front of what is broadly known as the Pacific War.

The following folders contain documents and photographs pertaining to the Sino-Japanese War.

Sub-Series 1: Andy Foss

Andrew "Andy" Foss was born February 8, 1910 in Elbow Lake, Minnesota. He entered the United States Marine Corps on January 12, 1934 in Savannah, Georgia. He saw combat duty in World War II, before separating from the Marine Corps in January 1942. He worked for the Western States Life Insurance Company for many years following his military career. Andy Foss died on June 5, 1983 in Fargo.

The material consists of 28 photographs regarding Japanese atrocities in Shanghai, China, in August 1937. The photographs were taken by Andy Foss while he was a Marine attached to the United States Embassy. The photos depict the widespread slaughter of civilians, in addition to much property loss and destruction. Donated by Mark Foss (son of Andy Foss), Grand Forks, North Dakota, on February 18, 1998 (Acc.#98-2180). The photographs were separated and placed in the Photograph File Cabinets. The photographs are numbered OGL 1278-137 to OGL 1278-164.

Department of Special Collections
Digital Finding Aids