Turcotte (William H.) Diary Z/1606.000/S
When the United States entered World War II (December 7, 1941) William H. Turcotte applied to and was accepted into the Army Air Corps, eventually becoming an aerial navigator with the 332nd Squadron, 91st Bomb group (July 1943). He participated in fourteen bombing raids into German-held territories. During the last raid, October 9, 1943, Turcotte's B-17 bomber was involved in an air battle and crashed near Anklem, Germany. Turcotte and the plane's bombardier managed to bail out of the plane, landing in a rutabaga field. They were subsequently taken into custody by townsmen and handed over to the German Luftwaffe. On October 22, 1943, Turcotte arrived at Stalag Luft III in Sagan, Germany, where he would spend the next eighteen months. His internment at the camp's south compound coincided with "The Great Escape" of seventy British POWs, which took place on March 25, 1944, at the north compound. Turcotte referenced a shooting incident involving a "beserk" camp guard two days after the escape and reproduced a scare card subsequently posted by the Germans in all prison camps.
The War Prisoners Aid Division of the Young Men's Christian Association produced blank diaries (log books) that were distributed to Prisoners of War in Red Cross care packages. Turcotte's log book contains colored pencil drawings of "Kriegie" (German slang for a Prisoner-of-War) living conditions, food, and activities. The drawings, while humorous, do convey the harsh living conditions Turcotte and his fellow prisoners faced, as well as their ingenuity. This is particularly shown in the illustrations of "KLIM Tin Ware." These were items made from the reclaimed metal from one-pound milk and jam cans. Turcotte drew portraits of his roommates in Room 4, Block 130, at Stalag Luft III. These are accompanied by their personal information and nicknames. He also wrote entries discussing the invasion of Germany, the prisoners' removal to Stalag Luft VII-A in Moosburg, Germany, and the eventual liberation of the prisoners on April 29, 1945.
read more...When the United States entered World War II (December 7, 1941) William H. Turcotte applied to and was accepted into the Army Air Corps, eventually becoming an aerial navigator with the 332nd Squadron, 91st Bomb group (July 1943). He participated in fourteen bombing raids into German-held territories. During the last raid, October 9, 1943, Turcotte's B-17 bomber was involved in an air battle and crashed near Anklem, Germany. Turcotte and the plane's bombardier managed to bail out of the plane, landing in a rutabaga field. They were subsequently taken into custody by townsmen and handed over to the German Luftwaffe. On October 22, 1943, Turcotte arrived at Stalag Luft III in Sagan, Germany, where he would spend the next eighteen months. His internment at the camp's south compound coincided with "The Great Escape" of seventy British POWs, which took place on March 25, 1944, at the north compound. Turcotte referenced a shooting incident involving a "beserk" camp guard two days after the escape and reproduced a scare card subsequently posted by the Germans in all prison camps.
The War Prisoners Aid Division of the Young Men's Christian Association produced blank diaries (log books) that were distributed to Prisoners of War in Red Cross care packages. Turcotte's log book contains colored pencil drawings of "Kriegie" (German slang for a Prisoner-of-War) living conditions, food, and activities. The drawings, while humorous, do convey the harsh living conditions Turcotte and his fellow prisoners faced, as well as their ingenuity. This is particularly shown in the illustrations of "KLIM Tin Ware." These were items made from the reclaimed metal from one-pound milk and jam cans. Turcotte drew portraits of his roommates in Room 4, Block 130, at Stalag Luft III. These are accompanied by their personal information and nicknames. He also wrote entries discussing the invasion of Germany, the prisoners' removal to Stalag Luft VII-A in Moosburg, Germany, and the eventual liberation of the prisoners on April 29, 1945.
Collection Description General & Tech Data Catalog Record
Image Arrangement and Numbering
Images were numbered to reflect the order of the original diary. Scrapbook pages in the middle of the diary were given lowercase Roman numerals. Loose items were arranged after the diary, in order of most intimate to Turcotte through least, e.g. photographs, correspondence, and newspaper clippings.
Technical Details
Digital Photographs: The 131 original images of the William H. Turcotte Diary were made in June and August 2017, according to the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Board of Trustees' approved imaging procedures, following ANSI/AIIM recommended practice. The cover and pages were photographed as uncompressed, 24-bit RGB TIFF files at 300 pixels per inch using a Nikon D810 camera.
Conversion: For Web display, the original images of the William H. Turcotte Diary were converted to Zoomify JPEG files by the Electronic Archives Section in November 2017.
Copyright
The images are intended for public use in research, teaching, and private study in accordance with the provisions of the Fair Use clause of the United States Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Any use beyond that prescribed by Fair Use requires the permission of the copyright owners. MDAH asks that each image used in a presentation, display, or publication be accompanied by the following credit statement:
Credit: Courtesy of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History
Publicity and Privacy Rights
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Copy Availability
High-resolution TIFFs of the images may be purchased from MDAH. The MDAH Public Order procedure and fee schedule apply. Consult the Photoreproduction and Digital Imaging policy or contact MDAH Reference Staff for order options as well as information on how to obtain and complete the necessary Public Order forms: 601-576-6876 or refdesk@mdah.ms.gov.