Our Collection

At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Schenk, Edgar, fl. 1943 to Leonard Eugene Graeff

Order a pdf of this item here.

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC09611.048.01 Author/Creator: Schenk, Edgar, fl. 1943 Place Written: Lincoln, Nebraska Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 4 May 1943 Pagination: 3 p. : envelope Height: 20.4 cm, Width: 26.5 cm Order a Copy

One greeting card from Ed Shank to Leonard Eugene Graeff dated May 4, 1943. Ed likens receiving Leonard's letter to "getting cookies from home." He asks Leonard, "So the little gal got engaged, and not to you. What the hell happened pal. I thought you would wake up and grab her someday." He notes that he joined the army hoping to be an officer but is happier "attending the Lincoln Aeronautical Institute studying to become a Flight Engineer." From there he hopes to go to Ariel gunners school. He relays, "I can hardly wait till I can ride one of those B-24 over Tokyo" and states, "I really like the army." He concludes his letter sending regards to people back home and has included a photo of himself in the letter.(GLC09611.048.02)

Graeff, Leonard Eugene, 1920-2016
Schenk, Edgar, fl. 1943

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources