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[Identification of item], Earl Garfield Cunningham Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University
The Earl Garfield Cunningham Papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library as a purchase in 2009.
Processed by Danielle Moore, September 2010
Encoded by Danielle Moore, October 2010
Accession 2009-0283 is described in this finding aid.
Descriptive sources and standards used to create this inventory:
This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.
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.
The collection includes awards, records, and photographs that collectively document the military career and experiences of Lieutenant Earl G. Cunningham. The
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The series consists of a small box containing a Bronze Star Medal awarded to Cunningham on March 12, 1948, together with four United States Army ribbons.
The series includes certificates of service, graduation program from Officer Candidate School, certificate of honorable discharge, transcript of military record, separation qualification record, military record and report of separation, certificate of appointment to First Lieutenant, Bronze Star Medal certificate, letter of gratitude from the White House, photocopies of selected military records and marriage certificate, and two letters regarding Cunningham's residence at the time of registration for Selective Service.
The series consists of two military portraits of Cunningham and seven photographic postcards of Genoa addressed to Mrs. Earl G. Cunningham, 2330 7th Ave. Apt. 6, New York 30 N.Y. All postcards were stamped in June of 1945, and only one includes commentary.
The series contains more than 150 amateur photographs corner-mounted on 12 pages from a scrapbook. The photographs, chiefly 9 x 6 cm, capture scenes in Italy, often with Cunningham or his fellow African American soldiers in the foreground. Subjects include architecture, city streets, countryside, shoreline, military vehicles, damaged buildings, and local Italians. Brief, handwritten captions identify colleagues or locations including Pisa, Viareggio, Pietrasanta, Massa, Genoa, and Savona. The first few pages of the scrapbook include appointment certificates demonstrating Cunningham's rise in the military along with photographs taken at Camp Williams near Lehi, Utah. One page features two poems and four news clippings announcing the soldiers' return home.