Lyn Crost papers, 1937-1996

Series 1. Correspondence, 1942-1997
Box 1, Folder 1-58
This series is divided into three subseries comprised of business correspondence relating to Lyn Crost's research for the writing of Honor by fire, fan mail she received from individuals praising Honor by fire, and personal correspondence.

Business, 1942-1997
Box 1, Folder 1-36
The Business correspondence comes from a wide range of correspondents representing literary agents, motion picture production companies, veterans groups, and institutions, such as museums and governmental agencies. Most of the correspondence relates to Lyn Crost's research for the writing of Honor by fire.

Fan Mail, 1994-1996
Box 1, Folder 37-42
The Fan mail is comprised of letters Lyn Crost received from individuals praising Honor by fire.

Personal, 1944-1997
Box 1, Folder 43-58
This subseries of personal letters include a telegram dated 1946 congratulating her on receiving her Theater Campaign ribbon, a 1943 letter of invitation from Mrs. J. M. Helm, Secretary to Mrs. Roosevelt, for afternoon tea, Christmas cards, and correspondence from long-time friends - some of whom were members of the 100th/442nd Infantry Battalion.

Series 2. Photographs, 1943-1987
Box 1, Folder 59-70
This series contains photographs used for the publication of Honor by fire, 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. By far the most interesting photographs within this series are ones taken by Lyn Crost during World War II. Virtually each of these black and white photographs has been annotated on the verso with place and date. Some of the annotations contain more detailed information that identifies the individuals in the picture. Many of the photographs were taken in Italy, but most were taken in Germany and capture the devastation of German cities brought about by Allied bombing during the war. Other photographs are of refugees, defeated German soldiers, and survivors of the Nazi death camp at Dachau. Two particular photographs of interest are one of Hitler's bombed out Chancellery office and an interior shot of Hitler's bunker in Berlin with a Russian soldier standing guard. This series contains a wealth of photographic evidence documenting Lyn Crost's participation in World War II as a war correspondent.

Series 3. Literary manuscripts, 1989-1995
Box 1, Folder 71-116
This series is comprised of three subseries.

The Bull and the Contessa, 1989
Box 1, Folder 71-76
The first subseries contains two drafts, each of approximately 225 typed pages divided into nineteen chapters, of the manuscript, The Bull and the Contessa. Drawn from a true incident that occurred in Italy during 1945, Lyn Crost explains in the Foreword that she "succumbed to temptation and wove a story around it, based solely on imagination, though no one could deny that, under the strange circumstances which war often produces, it could have happened." Draft A contains annotated notes, while draft B appears to contain the corrections from draft A. A handwritten note attached to the title page of draft A notes the manuscript was submitted to the U.S. Copyright Office September 23, 1989.

Farewell to Paradise
Box 2, Folder 77-102
Farewell to Paradise, an unpublished manuscript of approximately 800 pages, tells the story of those Japanese Americans who, according to the author, were "not only in the fight against the German enemy but also in the fight against racial prejudice in America. The story is told in terms of human beings rather logistics." Broken down into one chapter per folder, each of the twenty-five typed chapters is annotated in Lyn Crost's handwriting. Farewell to Paradise, while never published as a book, was eventually incorporated into Honor by fire.

Honor by fire
Box 2, Folder 103-116
Unlike the first two subseries, The Bull and the Contessa and Farewell to Paradise, this last subseries contains typed and handwritten research notes, interviews, and photocopies of maps that were used in researching and writing Honor by fire. Additional materials in this subseries include publicity notices and a synopsis for the book.

Series 4. Personal, 1935-1997
Box 2 and 7 (oversize), Folder 117-128
This series contains a small number of materials and personal effects belonging to Lyn Crost. Included among the personal effects are her Pembroke College academic transcripts and diploma, press pass cards dating from the 1940's, her War Department identification card and U. S. Passport for 1945. Other materials include a photocopy of her personal bookplate, copies of the obituaries published after her death in 1997, and a number of news articles written about her, plus a copy of an undated speech prepared and given by her on the topic of her book Honor by fire.

Series 5. Journalism, 1937-1952
Box 2 and 7 (oversize), Folder 129-172
This series is comprised of three subseries.

Articles by Lyn Crost, 1937-1981
Box 2 and 7 (oversize), Folder 129-150
The contents of this subseries for the most part consist of photocopies of the original news articles found in the subseries, Scrapbooks, which were written by Lyn Crost as a war correspondent between March 1945 and July of 1946. Within this series are two copies of Tales of the 100th Infantry Battalion and the 442nd Infantry, by Lyn Crost. This unpublished manuscript is a compilation of her activities and news reports as a war correspondent.

Scrapbooks, 1945-1987
Box 2, Folder 151-166
The subseries Scrapbooks is comprised of two unbound scrapbooks. The first scrapbook, titled "World War II, Volume I," contains the original newspaper articles written by Lyn Crost for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin and photographs of her during her time as a war correspondent in Europe. The second scrapbook, titled "World War II Stories - 100th/442nd, Volume II," contains additional articles written by Crost, plus duplicates of the same articles found in volume one. Chronologically, the two scrapbooks cover the same year, 1945, and are organized by month. Photocopies of the majority of these articles can also be found in the previous subseries, Articles by Lyn Crost.

Time-Life, 1939-1953
Box 3, Folder 167-172
The third subseries contain teletyped copies of articles written by Lyn Crost, while she worked for Time-Life at their Beverly Hills, California office from 1951 to 1953. The content of these reports detail various domestic news stories, such as the prominent 1951 Swan vs. Los Angeles Board of Education court case, the investigation of the film industry by the House Un-American Activities Committee, or coverage of well-known politicians, such as Adlai Stevenson, visiting the Beverly Hills/Los Angeles area.

Series 6. Subject files, 1939-1995
Box 3, Folder 173-193
This series contains materials that fall outside the scope of the others series of this collection and reflect some of the varying interests of Lyn Crost. There are a few news clippings, for example, about cowboys, Hawaiian culture, or of long-time residents of Hawaii. For example, one clipping dated April 5, 1939, from the Honolulu Star Bulletin, reports on the visit, after a 42-year absence, of the daughter of the last British minister in residence to Hawaii during the final years of the Hawaiian Kingdom.

Among the other materials within this series is an extract of Whence the "black Irish" of Jamaica? (1932) by Joseph J. Williams that reflects Lyn Crost's interest in Irish Genealogy, copies of Hitler's personal letterhead stationery she retrieved from the bombed out offices of the Nazi Chancellery building and the itinerary from her tour of Japan in 1969.

Series 7. Research materials, 1882-1995
Box 3, Folder 194-320
This series contains two subseries of materials that was used in the writing of Honor by fire.

General Research Files, 1882-1995
Box 3, Folder 194-282
This subseries is comprised of materials directly related to information regarding the 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd RCT, and the 522nd Field Artillery Battalion that was used in the writing of Honor by fire. Unit histories, field reports, HQ journals, and declassified documents from the U.S. War Department comprise a portion of the series, while personal interviews, maps of Italy and France, and news clippings of stories about the various units make up the bulk of the series.

Extracts
Box 4, Folder 283-320
The additional materials in this subseries include photocopies of relevant sections of published works cited in Honor by fire, which was published in 1994. These materials give background and historical information about events that occurred during World War II that help place the role of the Japanese American involvement in the war in context.

Series 8. Printed materials, 1952-1995
Box 4, Folder 321-375
This series is comprised of published materials that include newsletters, programs of events sponsored by Club 100 and the 442nd Veterans Club, the Brown Alumni Monthly, The Hawaii Herald, Honolulu magazine, the Honolulu Advertiser, the M.I.S. Intelligencer, Nikkei Heritage, and other publications that contain articles about the Japanese American involvement in World War II.

Series 9. Memorabilia, 1945-1995
Box 5, Folder 376-380
The highlights of this small series of memorabilia includes Lyn Crost's war correspondent hat with the official U.S War Correspondent insignia and her European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, plus the accompanying certificate issued by the U.S. War Department. Also of special interest in this series is a boxed medallion of appreciation given to her by the 442nd Veterans Club on the 50th anniversary of the formation of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team in 1943. The other items within this series are 3.5" floppy disks containing copies of Honor by fire in Word Perfect file format.

Series 10. Serials, 1980-1995
Box 5, Folder 381-403
This series contains two subseries of incomplete runs of the serials Go for Broke and the Puka Puka Parade for the years 1980-1995.

Go for Broke Bulletin, 1982-1994
10 folders

Box 5, Folder 381-390
The Go for Broke bulletin was published six times a year by the 442nd Veterans Club, and contained general news items of relevant interest to the Club' members, updates on the Club's activities, Statements of Financial Conditions for the Club, as well as letters, stories and anecdotes contributed by the Club's members.

Puka Puka Parade, 1980-1995
13 folders

Box 5, Folder 391-403
The Puka Puka Parade was published six times a year by the Club 100 veteran's organization, and similar to Go for Broke, the publication provided a venue for members of the original 100th Infantry Battalion to keep abreast of, and participate in Club news and activities.

Series 11. Audiovisual materials, 1951-1995
Box 6, Folder 404-414
The series contains videocassettes of various movies and documentaries about the Japanese American experience in America and as members of the U.S Armed Forces during World War II. Examples of titles within the series are the classic 1951 film about the 442nd Regimental Combat Team Go for Broke starring Van Johnson, Fifty years of Silence: the untold story of Japanese American soldiers in the Pacific Theater, 1941-1952 and Mission in Manila: The Sakakida story, both produced by the National Japanese American Historical Society. Home taped titles include The color of honor, a WETA televised broadcast from January 11, 1989, "442" Work in Progress, a recording of unknown origin, and Honor bound by Wendy Hanamura. This series as a whole provides examples of the cultural perspective, and a historical view, of the Nisei experience in America.