Earl Garfield Cunningham World War II scrapbook, photographs, and ephemera, 1941-1950 and undated

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Summary

Creator:
Cunningham, Earl Garfield, 1911-1983
Abstract:
Earl Garfield Cunningham (1911-1983) was an African American U.S. Army Lieutenant who served with the 371st Infantry in Italy from October 1944 to the end of 1945. While in Italy, he participated in the campaigns of North Apennines and Po Valley. collection includes 12 scrapbook pages containing more than 150 amateur corner-mounted photographs taken primarily in Italy, together with postcards of Italian sights; military appointment certificates and news clippings; military records; military awards including the Bronze Star Medal; and additional photographs that collectively document the military career and experiences of African American soldier Earl G. Cunningham. Locations documented in Garfield's photographs include Genova, Pisa, Viareggio, Massa, Pietrasanta, and Savona, Images include city streets, rural landscapes, coastal views, damaged buildings and destroyed tanks, Italian citizens, American soldiers, and partisan cemeteries. Many of the photographs have brief captions. Acquired as part of the John Hope Franklin Research Center for African and African American History and Culture.
Extent:
1.25 Linear Feet (1 box)
40 Items
Language:
Material in English
Collection ID:
RL.00275

Background

Scope and content:

The collection includes awards, service records, scrapbook pages, and photographs that collectively document the military career and experiences of African American U.S. Army Lieutenant Earl G. Cunningham. The Scrapbook series contains more than 150 amateur photographs corner-mounted on 12 loose pages that were formerly part of a large scrapbook. The photographs, chiefly 2x3 inches, capture scenes in Allied-occupied Italy, often with Cunningham or his fellow African American soldiers in the foreground. Subjects include city streets, rural landscapes, coastal views, damaged buildings and destroyed tanks, mounds of rubble, Italian citizens, American soldiers, and partisan cemeteries. Brief, handwritten captions identify colleagues or locations including Pisa, Viareggio, Pietrasanta, Massa, Genoa, and Savona. The first few pages in the scrapbook include certificates of appointment demonstrating Cunningham's rise in the military from 1941-1943, along with photographs taken at Camp Williams near Lehi, Utah before his service in Italy.

The remainder of the collection is divided into the following series: Military Awards, Military Records, and Photographs. Military awards and records include transcripts of service, discharge papers, a copy of Cunningham's marriage certificate from Maryland, and a Bronze Star medal. The loose photographs include his portrait and a series of black-and-white commercial photographic postcards from Genova and other cities in Italy, postmarked 1945, with one containing a message to his wife.

Acquired as part of the John Hope Franklin Research Center for African and African American History and Culture.

Biographical / historical:

Earl Garfield Cunningham, an African American born on June 3, 1911, in Egypt, Mississippi, was a resident of New York City when drafted into the United States Army in 1941. After rising through the ranks to First Sergeant, he attended Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia, and was commissioned as Second Lieutenant on November 21, 1942. From October 1944 to the end of 1945, he served in Italy with the 371st Infantry and participated in the campaigns of North Apennines and Po Valley. He was commissioned as First Lieutenant before his honorable discharge from the Army in 1946.

Acquisition information:
The Earl Garfield Cunningham World War II scrapbook, photographs, and ephemer were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a purchase in 2009.
Processing information:

Processed by Danielle Moore, September 2010

Encoded by Danielle Moore, October 2010

Accession 2009-0283 is described in this finding aid.

Physical location:
For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

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Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Earl Garfield Cunningham World War II scrapbook, photographs, and ephemera, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University