STAN AND JEAN CUMMINGS PAPERS

Collection

Identifier: TMD7

Staff Only

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

Two hundred eighty-nine personal letters comprise the collection, which spans July 1943 to October 1945. Approximately half the correspondence is typed, and most of the 418 pages are double-sided.

Correspondence from 1943 through 1944 includes letters sent by both Stan and Jean Cummings. The bulk of this correspondence was typed by Jean using carbon papers to produce three identical copies, one for each set of parents, and one for her sister Marion. Also included are hand-written letters from Stan to his parents. Correspondence contains personal reflections on camp life and training, details of Jean's work in the hospitals at Camp Hale and Camp Swift, and her work with German prisoners of war. Letters also include details of Stan's training at Fort Benning, Georgia. Of particular interest are several letters that chronicle a three-week furlough trip in the spring of 1944 through several western states.

Correspondence from 1945 is exclusively from Stan. The bulk of this correspondence is comprised of letters Stan sent to Jean, which include descriptions of combat operations and the living conditions in wartime Italy. Also included are letters describing Stan's convalescence following a concussion he received in a German artillery attack. Additional correspondence documents Stan's post-combat assignments, including the 248th ordnance section, his assignment to court martial boards and his work as instructor at the American GI University at Florence, Italy.

Dates

1943-1945

ACCESS:

The collection is open for research.

OWNERSHIP:

Stan and Jean Cummings Papers are the physical property of the Denver Public Library

COPYRIGHT:

All requests for permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from material in the collection should be discussed with the appropriate librarian or archivist. Permission for publication may be given on behalf of the Denver Public Library as the owner of the physical item. It is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which also must be obtained by the customer. The Library does not assume any responsibility for infringement of copyright or publication rights of the manuscript held by the writer, heirs, donors, or executors. Reproduction restrictions are decided on a case-by-case basis.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Stan Cummings (1918-) was raised in Sherburne Falls, Massachusetts and graduated from Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island in 1940. Subsequently, he attended The University of Chicago law school, where he received a Bachelor of Laws degree in absentia in 1943, having already joined the 10th Mountain Division, which had recently begun training to fight in World War II.

At Camp Hale, Colorado, Stan Cummings was assigned to Company A, 85th Regiment. He received rapid promotions through Staff Sergeant and was accepted to the officer candidate school at Fort Benning, Georgia in July 1944. He received his commission November 16, 1944 and rejoined the 10th Mountain Division at Camp Swift, Texas where he was assigned to Company B, 85th Regiment. As a platoon leader, he deployed to Italy aboard the USS West Point.

While serving in Italy, Stan Cummings was hospitalized with a concussion suffered in a German artillery attack. At the war's end he had not accumulated sufficient points for rotation back to the United States. This led to an assignment as an instructor in journalism basics and English composition at the American GI university in Florence. When the school closed, he was transferred to the 88th Division, where he received his discharge in October, 1946.

His wife joined him in Italy in July 1946. Following his discharge, Stan and Jean Cummings moved to Switzerland, where Stan Cummings studied international law. They returned to the United States in 1947 and Stan Cummings began to practice law.

Jean Cummings was raised in Summit, New Jersey. She graduated from Brown University in 1940 and received a Master of Science degree from Northwestern University, Chicago in 1942. She worked as a lab assistant at the University of Chicago until leaving to join Stan at Camp Hale in 1943. While at Camp Hale and Camp Swift, Jean worked as a histopathologist. When her husband deployed to Italy, Jean returned to her home in New Jersey.

Stan and Jean (Bruce) were married in the summer of 1940. They have three children and seven grandchildren.

Extent

1 (.25 linear feet)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Other Finding Aids

For location information, refer to the Denver Public Library Catalog.

PROVENANCE:

Gift;Stan and Jean Cummings;2000-2004. Papers were donated by Jean Cummings between 2000 and 2004. The collection remains open for additional donations.