RIAMCO

Rhode Island Archival and Manuscript Collections Online

For Participating Institutions

Lyn Crost papers (Ms.2005.46)

Brown University Library

Box A
Brown University
Providence, RI 02912
Telephone: Manuscripts: 401-863-3723; University Archives: 401-863-2148
Email: Manuscripts: hay@brown.edu; University Archives: archives@brown.edu

Scope & content

The Lyn Crost papers consist of a wide variety of materials relating primarily to her experiences as a war correspondent covering the 100th/442nd Regimental Combat Team in Europe during World War II, and research materials collected and used in writing her book Honor by fire (1994). The bulk of the materials span two distinct time periods, 1937-1952, and 1980-1997.

Among the many unique items that can be found in this collection are her World War II theater campaign ribbon and war correspondent's hat, an invitation to the White House for tea with Mrs. Roosevelt, and copies of Hitler's personal letterhead stationery. First hand accounts by individual members of the 100th/442nd Infantry detailing their war experiences, and a rich assortment of photographs are also contain in this collection.

Overall the collection comprises correspondence that includes subject matter of a business and personal nature, as well as fan mail. The Photographs series contains photographs used for the publication of Honor by fire, as well as original photographs taken by Lyn Crost as a war correspondent in Europe, 1945-1946, and photographs of the Smithsonian exhibit "A More Perfect Union" mounted by the National Museum of American History in 1987. The Literary Manuscripts series contains the working drafts of two novels, one of which was incorporated into Honor by fire. The scrapbooks Lyn Crost kept of news articles she wrote as a war correspondent became the original foundation for her unpublished manuscript Farewell to Paradise, which was later transformed into Honor by fire.

Additional materials in the collection include copies of relevant sections of cited works used in writing Honor by fire, an incomplete run of the serials Go for Broke and the Puka Puka Parade for the years 1980-1995, and video cassette tapes of various movies and documentaries, which provide examples of the cultural perspective, and a historical view, of the Nisei experience in America.

The Lyn Crost papers represent a valuable resource for those researching the role of women correspondents in World War II, the 100th /442nd Regimental Combat Team, and the Nisei experience in America.