August Lourenco Letters

Access and use

Location of collection:
College of William and Mary
Special Collections Research Center
Earl Gregg Swem Library
College of William and Mary
400 Landrum Drive
PO 8795
Williamsburg, VA 23187-8795
Contact for questions and access:
Phone: (757) 221-3090
Fax: (757) 221-5440
Restrictions:

Collection is open to all researchers. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, such as the Virginia Public Records Act (Code of Virginia. § 42.1-76-91); and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Code of Virginia § 2.2-3705.5). Confidential material may include, but is not limited to, educational, medical, and personnel records. If sensitive material is found in this collection, please contact a staff member immediately. The disclosure of personally identifiable information pertaining to a living individual may have legal consequences for which the College of William and Mary assumes no responsibility.

Terms of access:

Before reproducing or quoting from any materials, in whole or in part, permission must be obtained from the Special Collections Research Center, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library.

Preferred citation:

August Lourenco letters, Special Collections Research Center, William and Mary Libraries.

Summary

Extent:
.84 Linear Feet 2 legal size Hollinger boxes
Creator:
Lourenco, August
Language:
English Portuguese
Preferred citation:

August Lourenco letters, Special Collections Research Center, William and Mary Libraries.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection contains letters belonging to August "Auggie" Lourenco, a Portuguese-American from Newark, New Jersey, who served in the United States Army during World War II. Most letters are addressed to his girlfriend-then-wife, Anna "Ann" Lourenco (née Ertman), a second-generation Polish immigrant. Lourenco joined the United States Army in 1943 and completed his basic training at Camp Gordon, Georgia and Nashville, Tennessee, before being sent to Yuma, Arizona for additional training. Lourenco was then stationed across Europe, most often in Germany but also in France and Belgium. Most of Lourenco's work in the Army consisted of truck driving.

Many letters sent from August to Anna during his time in Europe are in the form of Victory Mail, or V-Mail. Several letters exchanged between August and Anna feature lipstick stains. These instances are noted in the individual folder's notes.

Other letters are from August Lourenco's relative, Gaspar Jose Lourenco, writing to August and Anna from his home in Arcos de Valdevez, Minho, a now former province of Portugal. Several of these letters are written partially in Portuguese.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard