Guide to the Harry Dufresne Papers, 1848-1965
Collection number: MC 118
Size: 1 box
(0.33 cu.ft.)
About Harry Dufresne, Jr. (1919-1965)
Harry David Dufresne, Jr. was born on April 23, 1919 in Dover, New Hampshire. He married Anna F. Laderbush in Portsmouth, New Hampshire in 1938. He joined the US Navy reserves in 1944. As a coxwain, first class gun pointer on large naval guns, he saw service in the Aleutians, the Solomons, the Carolines, Ryukyus, the Marshalls, and the Admiralty and Marianna island groups. He held ribbons for the Asiatic, Pacific, and American theaters as well as a naval unit citation for withstanding sixty days of continued air attack, and four battle stars. He also witnessed the surrender of northern Honshu, Japan. He served for 18 months.
Both before and after his service, he worked for the Portsmouth navy yard as a molder and an electrician and related jobs. In 1961 he was awarded for twenty years of civil service. He won several recognition awards as well as a cash prize from his time in the US Navy Suggestion Club during which he created and put forth cost saving and production enhancing suggestions for various operations in the US Navy. He had five children. He died in September 1965.
About the Harry Dufresne Papers
The Harry Dufresne Papers are mostly made up of correspondence and military records. The bulk of the correspondence is between Harry and his wife Anna between April and August of 1944 when he was station in Sampson, New York at the US Naval Training Center. The records consist of paperwork pertaining to employment, including position descriptions, job applications, performance reviews, and notices detailing Dufresne's progression through government grade levels. Also included are fitness records and other records from Dufresne's time of active service in the US Navy such as leave requests, call-up orders, and discharge paperwork. The collection also includes some photographs and miscellaneous printed material such as a soldier's pocket New Testament and a book of daily prayers for Catholic laity.
Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
This collection is open.
Copyright Notice
Contents of this collection are governed by U.S. copyright law. For questions about publication or reproduction rights, contact Special Collections staff.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], [Folder], [Box], Harry Dufresne Papers, 1848-1965, MC 118, Milne Special Collections and Archives, University of New Hampshire Library, Durham, NH, USA.
Acquisitions Information
Donation: Marga Coulp, Dover, NH, August 26, 2014 (Accession number: 2014.11)
Related Material
See also: the George Laderbush Papers, MC 260
Collection Contents
- Series 1: Correspondence, 1848-1965
- Series 2: Official Records, 1937-1965
- Series 3: Photographs, 1942-1961
- Series 4: Printed Material
Series 1: Correspondence, 1848-1965
| Box 1 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Box 1, Folder 1 | Harry to Anna, June 13-23, 1944 (7 letters) | |
| Box 1, Folder 2 | Harry to Anna, June 25 - July 3, 1944 (7) | |
| Box 1, Folder 3 | Harry to Anna, July 4-25, 1944 (6) | |
| Box 1, Folder 4 | Anna to Harry, May - June 8, 1944 (7) | |
| Box 1, Folder 5 | Anna to Harry, June 9-16, 1944 (6) | |
| Box 1, Folder 6 | Anna to Harry, June 20-26, 1944 (8) | |
| Box 1, Folder 7 | Anna to Harry, June 29 - July 9, 1944 (7 and 2 undated fragments) | |
| Box 1, Folder 8 | Other, 1848, Apr - Aug 1944 (7)
One letter from 1848 sent from Alden and Susan Caswell to Joel Caswell; three letters sent from Harry Dufresne to his mother and father in 1944; the rest of the letters from Dufresne's employers at the Portsmouth navy yard as job recommendations or employment confirmations | |
| Box 1, Folder 9 | Other, Nov 1945 - Apr
1952 (6)
Several letters regarding Harry Dufresne's discharge from service and re-entry into civilian life as a government employee; one postcard from Armand Abrovato to Harry Dufresne; rest of the letters relating to Dufresne's employment record | |
| Box 1, Folder 10 | Other, June 1955 - Dec
1965 (9)
Letters mainly relate to Dufresne's employment record and suggestions made to the US Navy for cost saving and production enhancing procedures; one letter of sympathy to Anna Dufresne after her husband's death | |
| Box 1, Folder 11 | Other, undated (4 and 1 address book)
One letter to Harry Dufresne from his mother and father; one letter from Harry Dufresne to his sister; one letter from "Spike" to "Chum"; one letter from Harry Dufresne to Arlene Hughes | |
Series 2: Official Records, 1937-1965
| Box 1, Folder 12 | Miscellaneous personal documents and records: two marriage certificates issued 1965 and 1966; certificates of membership in the US Civil Service Retirement System; Maine Automobile Retail Instsallment Contract, 1964 | |
| Box 1, Folder 13 | Military service and discharge papers, 1944-1945 | |
| Box 1, Folder 14 | Photocopies of WWII military service records sent from the National Personnel Records Center of the National Archives and Records Administration | |
| Box 1, Folder 15 | Photocopies of WWII military service records sent from the National Personnel Records Center of the National Archives and Records Administration | |
| Box 1, Folder 16 | Photocopies of WWII military service records sent from the National Personnel Records Center of the National Archives and Records Administration | |
| Box 1, Folder 17 | Civil service records: job applications and position descriptions for employment as a civilian with the US Navy and US Air Force, mainly from electrician and related work | |
| Box 1, Folder 18 | Civil service records: Notifican of Personnel Action paperwork, describing changes in job descriptions, promotions, furlough, leave, and terminations, 1945-1964 | |
| Box 1, Folder 19 | Civil service records: performance review paperwork, 1937-1962 | |
| Box 1, Folder 20 | Civil service records: record of training notices, 1960-1963 | |
| Box 1, Folder 21 | Civil service records: certificates and awards, for training course completion, superior performance and duty, and "beneficial suggestion awards" from the US Navy for "advancement of production," 1951-1963 |
Series 3: Photographs, 1942-1961
| Box 1, Folder 22 | Photographs of Dufresne, family, and friends
| |
| Box 1, Folder 23 | Photographs of USS Panamint, 1944-1945, all photocopies from the USS Panamint Log Book made in 1958 (3); one photo montage celebrating Navy Day, Oct 27, 1944 |
Series 4: Printed Material
| Box 1, Folder 24 | Photocopies of information on USS Panamint and the Flier and their service in the Pacific Theater | |
| Box 1, Folder 25 | A pocket sized New Testament published specifically for American soldiers | |
| Box 1, Folder 26 | Harvey Newcomb, The Dark Ages: Containing Gleanings of the Christian Character; An Account of the Paulicians, Cathari, &c. with Brief Notices of Important Events Connected with the History of the Church, Boston: Massachusetts Sabbath School Society, 1849; Manual of Prayers for the Use of the Catholic Laity, Baltimore: John Murphy Company, Printers to the Holy See, 1889 |