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)

See also: the George Laderbush Papers, MC 260

Collection Contents

Series 1: Correspondence, 1848-1965

Box 1
Box 1, Folder 1Harry to Anna, June 13-23, 1944 (7 letters)
Box 1, Folder 2Harry to Anna, June 25 - July 3, 1944 (7)
Box 1, Folder 3Harry to Anna, July 4-25, 1944 (6)
Box 1, Folder 4Anna to Harry, May - June 8, 1944 (7)
Box 1, Folder 5Anna to Harry, June 9-16, 1944 (6)
Box 1, Folder 6Anna to Harry, June 20-26, 1944 (8)
Box 1, Folder 7Anna to Harry, June 29 - July 9, 1944 (7 and 2 undated fragments)
Box 1, Folder 8Other, 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 9Other, 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 10Other, 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 11Other, 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 12Miscellaneous 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 13Military service and discharge papers, 1944-1945
Box 1, Folder 14Photocopies of WWII military service records sent from the National Personnel Records Center of the National Archives and Records Administration
Box 1, Folder 15Photocopies of WWII military service records sent from the National Personnel Records Center of the National Archives and Records Administration
Box 1, Folder 16Photocopies of WWII military service records sent from the National Personnel Records Center of the National Archives and Records Administration
Box 1, Folder 17Civil 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 18Civil service records: Notifican of Personnel Action paperwork, describing changes in job descriptions, promotions, furlough, leave, and terminations, 1945-1964
Box 1, Folder 19Civil service records: performance review paperwork, 1937-1962
Box 1, Folder 20Civil service records: record of training notices, 1960-1963
Box 1, Folder 21Civil 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 22Photographs of Dufresne, family, and friends
  • Anna Dufresne, one son and two daughters, 1942
  • Harry Dufresne and Company 448, US Naval Training Center, Sampson, NY, June 8, 1944
  • Anna Dufresne, Sept 8, 1944
  • H. Cranner, W. Carr ("Spike"), Bob [?], and Harry Dufresne, July 1945
  • Harry and Anna Dufresne, 1949
  • Award ceremony receiving 20 year service pins; pictured are: John Murphy, Harold Durgin, William Parsons, Major Rag Stobblefield, Harry Dufrese, Carl Bragg, 1961-07-17
  • Harry Dufresne and unidentified, n.d.
  • Chum and Shirley, wedding, n.d.
  • Harry and Anna Dufresne, n.d.
  • W. Carr ("Spike") and Harry Dufresne, n.d
  • Harry Dufresne in uniform, n.d.
  • unidentified older couple, n.d.
Box 1, Folder 23Photographs 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 24Photocopies of information on USS Panamint and the Flier and their service in the Pacific Theater
Box 1, Folder 25A pocket sized New Testament published specifically for American soldiers
Box 1, Folder 26Harvey 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