The Janus - June 1986

THE JANUS June 1986

1.

'Ib preserve manuscripts, photographs, printed records, publications, and rrarorabilia of AFSin WorldWarI, VibrldWarII, and the French University Fellowship Program.

2.

'Ib rna.intainofficial rerords of AFSorganizational activities, programs, and participants in AFSInternational Scholarships and AFSInternational/ Intercultural Programs.

3.

'Ib establish a records and resource center for the use of AFSstaff, volunteers, and rrernbers-- v.orldwide.

4.

'Ib provide access for scholars, historians, and other researchers to rna.terials of historical and cultural value.

4.

To secure the personnel needed to accanplish the goals of the Archives within the policy and plans of AFS.

A.

In order to carry out the functions of an archive (a records and resource center) there must be: 1.

An institutional records;

policy concerning the retention and preservation of

3.

Therreans of caring for and conserving the historical rrerrorabilia;

4.

The establishrrent of bibliographic rontrol (arrangerrent, description, ancillary records, e. g. donor, accession and rollection files);

5.

Themeansof retrieving infonnation (printed finding aids, autanation, computer, and microphotography) .

rna.terials and and

B. Althoughthe prirrary function of an archive is to keep and preserve the manuscripts and other materials in its charge, it must makethem available for use. In order to discharge this second responsibility there must be:

3.

Restrictions under which research maybe carried out, established either or stated or inplied by the institution in accordance with its policy statement; and

by the donor at the time of the gift,

4.

Adequateprovisions for the security and safety of the collection.

Within the restrictions of the arove stipulations, the archive must be aware of its obligation to render a public service (especially if it expects governrrental, corporate, and individual support) .

1.

Corporate records: These include minutes, resolutions, actions, trustee biographies, annual audits, treasurers' reports, president's annual reports, officers' annual reports, contracts, and other legal docurrents.

3.

Organization correspondence and programrecords: WorldWarI, WorldWarII, French University Fellowship Program, AFSInternational Scholarship Program.

In addition to the arove archives also holds a large numberof personal letters, diaries, and scrapbooks fran AFSpersonnel in W.W.I and W.W.II, proclama.tionsand posters, letters and testirronials from internationally knCMTl personages, a library (500volurres), and nurrerousrredals, souvenirs and l1lE!IDrabilia of historical interest.

As a result of a projected survey other records will be added to the present archival collection.

There is also an ongoing solicitation of forner ambulance drivers to donate their photographs, diaries, and letters to AFSArchives.

Anyone",,7J.10 wishes to makea tax deductible donation to AFSArchives should be sure to indicate on the check the use td which they wish their gift to be put.

The cl:eeJ<. should be madepayable, of course, to the AmericanField Service, Inc.

Bill Foley, a volunteer very interested in and extremely knowledgeable about all aspects of WJrld WarI, has been ~rking hard on getting W.W.I drivers to get together in couples or groups and talk about their experiences while he records the conversation.

His latest coup was to corral M':l.lcoJ1n Cowley, 'IMJ 526, EdwardWeeks,SSU71 and AlmsWilder, SSU2-3 and w=hear they all had a ~nderful time reminiscing and swappinganecdotes. Of course, if Bill carmot get tvx:> or rrore together he interviews them singly, but naturally it is muchbetter and a lot rrore :funfor tvx:> or rrore to spark each other and try to outdo the others.

Bill will not be able to get around to all the W.W.Idrivers allover the country - there are close to tvx:> hundred with whanw=are still in touch -but perhaps the idea will catch on and others will initiate similar rreetings and send us the tapes. Wehope so.

Weknowyou have all heard frcm Joseph P. Brinton, 3rd, CM 56, abJut his project for obtaining U.S. veterans I enti tlerrent under Public law 95-202 Title IV, enacted in 1977. Whatyou probably do not knowis howstrenuously Jody has IDrked on this.

'Ihe time and effort he has put into this operation are incalculable.

Wein Archives have been doing our best to help him by delving into the files and providing him with posting lists, correspondence between the services, and, in fact, any relevant infomation that might prove helpful.

But it will be to Jody that all the gratitude must go if he is successful. He has indeed madegreat progress and w=hope to hear before long that he has enough arrmunitionto assail the pow=rsthat be.

Whatyou also maynot knowis that the AFSTrustees, at their rreeting on 8 April 1986, passed the following resolution: RESOLVED, that the Board of Trustees acknowledgeswith appreciation the efforts of certain wartime drivers to obtajn veteran benefit status for the AFSvolunteers of WorldWarI and WorldWarII from the Covernrrentof the United States under provision of Public law 95-20 TITLEIV or such other laws as maybe applicable, and, subject to review and approval of legal counsel, it approves this effort as an appropriate objective of the Corporation.

Jody has not always received the full support of the AFSdrivers in this undertaking, and it should, therefore, be pointed out that he and those who have encouraged him, and in sare cases helped him, have done so in the true spirit of the AFSVolunteers~ selflessly and generously, in order to get these benefits for those whoreally need them -- a greater numberthan sorre of you nay think \\Quldbe very thankful for that little extra. Weall wish him every success.

The last reunion, in June 1984, was a great success -- everyone whocaIre told us this and we believed them because they all looked so happy. The attendance was good, too. Hc:M2ver, NewYork City is a long way from a great manyplaces and manyrrore drivers might have been able to rreet each other again if it had not been for distance.

Wewould like to hear what you think, therefore, of having other reunions in other parts of the country -- california, NewEngland, Florida or wherever there is a concentration of drivers.

Suggestions, and conmentson howfuture reunions might be improved\\Duldbe welcared.

AFSArchives is prepared to nail lists to anyone interested in establishing closer relations between the fonner ambulancedrivers and International Scholarship Programvolunteers and particiPants.

'Ib chapters we can furnish addresses of drivers living in their vicinity; to drivers, namesand addresses of chapters and their presidents.

Weleave it to your ingenuity to create opr:ortunities for bringing together original and latterday AFSmembers. (e.g. ORAL HISTORY promer) .

AnAFSmuseumis what we have in mind. SCIrewhere not far fran NewYork City -NewEngland, perhaps. But we need a building where our treasures can be adequately displayed, and cared for; where drivers can rreet and scholars study; and where the story of the AFSVolunteer Drivers of the tw::> WJrld Wars can be told -- and there is so muchto tell.

SCholars care to our door now, seeking to knowarout the exploits of our drivers, either in general or they want to concentrate on one particular section or platoon, or on varied areas of the fighting zones, or on certain aspects of the service. 'Ibday a writer has asked for details of the experiences and rren of SSU12 in WorldWarI so that he can write their story. But we cannot always give them what they want -- we do not have the space for them to studY, and for muchthey need we have to dig in trunks stored in the attic or scrabble through boxes containing a heterogeneous collection of mrorabilia, photographs, bullets, hebnets, gasmasks-- the list could go on indefinitely.

But we want to have these precious articles in view. Weneed a library, a roomfor docurrents, an art gallery, a study, roans for the souvenirs of WJrld Wars I and II -- one rcx:min AFSHQis a pitiable effort to solve the problem.

Then there's the fantastic story of the AFSscholarship programs. The drivers, fresh from seeing the wantonwaste of youth in Europe, wanting to help those who were left and inaugurating the French Fellowship Program. After WorldWar II they knewthey had to do rrore and decided to cover the lMJrldin their efforts to bring understanding between nations by using the youth of all the countries that lMJuld listen.

Wehave so rrany stories to tell of this gargantuan undertaking -- the bus trips, the voyages, the adult exchanges between countries, the meetings with U.S. Presidents, photographs, films, tributes -- and ever the exPansion of this wonderful concept, this vision of the lMJrldat peace. Again, one room .