American Historical Ephemera and Photography

30 in. L x 17 1/2 in. W x 12 in. H footlocker identified on exterior via stenciled name on front, back, and top to Lt. John C. Stiles, Army Serial No. 01 644 128. Housed within trunk are a large number of personal items identified to Stiles, most of which are war-date. These include: war-date personal correspondence (many letters from Stiles but also from other soldiers); two silk "blood chits"; two-sided AAF Cloth Chart - Philippines Series No. C-41 Mindoro Island and No. C-42 Samar Island on verso; dog tag; 5th Air Force Squadron patches and other insignia; photographs of Stiles in uniform and snapshots from the Pacific; personal military records; miscellaneous military documents and publications; and personal effects such as a hand-inscribed wooden pipe bearing the name "Stiles" and locations in the Pacific, an approx. 13 in. knife in leather sheath with hand-inscribed name "Stiles," and a 17 x 3 in. wooden name plate ("Lt. J.C. Stiles").

Also included in the lot are other personal items which are not war-date, including: certifications for trainings; photographs of Stoughton, Massachusetts, one inscribed on verso "First Airplane Picture of Stoughton Mass. / taken on 200th Anniversary Celebration / during Mammoth Parade Aug. 23, 1926 / by John C. Stiles" and multiple with a "John C. Stiles" backstamp; miscellaneous receipts and paperwork; and more.

Born in Stoughton, Massachusetts, in 1906, John Cyrus Stiles worked as a U.S. mail carrier and an amateur radio operator prior to enlisting with the U.S. Army in March 1941 and serving as a radio operator. In a letter dated 9 December 1941, he writes of Pearl Harbor that "the Japanese fireworks" may delay his discharge. Little did he know that he would remain in the service of the U.S. Army for over four more years. He was a graduate of the Officer Candidate School, Signal Corps, 18 February 1943, then was discharged for promotion to Company B 1715 Signal Service Battalion. Stiles departed for the Pacific Theater in March 1944 and served during campaigns at Bismarck Archipelago, New Guinea, Luzon, Southern Philippines, and Ryukus until his return to the United States in 1945. He was discharged on 18 February 1946. According to his Separation Qualification Record, as a fixed station radio officer he "Supervised and commanded radio station personnel of Fifth Air Force Headquarters serving under combat conditions....Traffic handled included all messages coordinating all the Pacific forces on land, air and sea for all operations." Stiles married, and in addition to serving during WWII, was an early aviator and pilot, a commercial photographer, and a town historian.