Dale Center for the Study of War and Society
World War II Archive Bequest--103d Infantry Division
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The University of Southern Mississippi's Dale Center for the Study of War & Society is proud to house the 103d Infantry Division (Cactus) World War II Association’s historical document collection and webpage. The 103d Infantry Division (Cactus) was activated on November 15, 1942 and served in the European Theater of World War II until their deactivation on September 22, 1945.
In 2015, veterans, families, and members of the 103rd Association gathered in Hattiesburg, Mississippi for their reunion. At this event, the Association formally donated their complete collection to the University of Southern Mississippi. This donation was made possible thanks to a partnership with the Department of History and Dr. Kenneth Swope. For more information about the bequest, see this press release.
The archival collection of historical documents, memorabilia, and books is housed in Special Collections at University Libraries of Southern Miss. For more information on the archival collection, please consult the finding aid. If you have questions about donating materials to the 103rd Archival Collection, please contact Lorraine Stuart, Head of Special Collections and Curator of Historical Manuscripts & Archives.
In 2022, the Dale Center undertook the multi-year 103rd Infantry Division Digital Humanities Project, with the goal of creating an improved website and extensive digital document collection. The chief component of that project is a new, interactive website and digital archive hosting historical documents and oral histories. Another important element of the project is the 103rd Infantry Division's Narrative Timeline StoryMap. More information on the digital humanities project itself can be found in the blog post describing the project by Project Manager Sarah Hogue, published at the end of the first summer's work in 2022. Additional information on the project is provided by Web Content Editor James Witkoski in his blog post offering a 2023 update on the Center for Digital Humanities' blog.
To financially support this project, that is documenting the extraordinary story of the 103rd Infantry Division in World War II, donations can be made to the Dale Center here.
Below are photos of the 103d Infantry Division (Cactus) World War II Association’s visit to Southern Miss in 2015:
