Van Fleet Digital Archive
This digital archive consists of documents, photos, multimedia and memorabilia pertaining to General Van Fleet, consolidating data and digital images of original source material from private and public sources around the world. It will be available freely over the Internet to anyone. Inquiries are welcome and may be submitted anytime to WillToWin@VanFleetFoundation.org. We will be glad to assist in your research if possible.
Digitizing has started with some of the documents in the archives that General Van Fleet donated to the George C. Marshall Foundation, located on the campus of the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia. A complete guide and index to the James A. Van Fleet Papers was prepared by Alison L. Oswald, Project Archivist at the George C. Marshall Foundation in 1994. The Table of Contents and a brief Scope and Content of the Papers are extracted for quick reference. Most items can be located by Box and Folder number identified in the Container List. A few items of special interest, such as the report of the D-Day Landing on Utah Beach, and the Commanding General's Journals from the Korean War and the Communist Insurgency in Greece are highlighted on the website. Other topics may be highlighted in the future.
General Van Fleet was the Regimental Commander of the 8th Infantry which led the assault on Utah Beach in the Normandy Invasion on D-Day. His report of the landing on Utah Beach and of the fighting all the way to Bastogne and the Battle of the Bulge can be seen here in Box 32, Folder 30, Folder 31 and Folder 32. The roster of all the officers of the 8th Infantry Regiment who landed on Utah Beach on D-Day can be seen here. Five of these officers were present at General Van Fleet's 100th Birthday Celebration in 1992 at his ranch in Polk County, Florida.
His remarks at the 90th Infantry Division Association Reunion on November 11th, 1950 about the superb soldiers of the 90th, the "Tough Hombres", and about the Greek Communist guerilla struggle can be seen in Box 32, Folder 58.
The Commanding General's Journal covering the period of the Greek Communist insurgency begins in early 1948 and continues into 1950. The first section covering the period from January 5th, 1948 to April 6th, 1948 can be seen in Box 49, Folder 1. The remaining sections in Folders 2 through 10c are currently being digitized and will be added soon.
The Commanding General's Journal during the Korean War consists of more than 800 pages. These came from Box 81, Folders 6 through 28 of the archives at the Marshall Foundation. Click on the links below to access these files.
Commanding General's Journal, 8th U.S. Army, Korean War, April 1951 - February 1953
April 1951 May 1951 June 1951 July 1951 August 1951 September 1951 October 1951 November 1951 December 1951
January 1952 February 1952 March 1952 April 1952 May 1952 June 1952 July 1952 August 1952 September 1952
October 1952 November 1952 December 1952
Files pertaining to the foundation of The Korea Society came from several boxes at the Marshall Foundation, primarily Boxes 99, 101 and 102. Click on the active links below to access these files. (In process of being posted.)
Box 99: Folder 1, Folder 2, Folder 3, Folder 4, Folder 5, Folder 26, Folder 27, Folder 28, Folder 29, Folder 30, Folder 31
Box 101: Folder 1, Folder 2, Folder 3, Folder 4, Folder 5, Folder 6, Folder 7, Folder 8, Folder 9, Folder 10, Folder 11, Folder 12,
Folder 13, Folder 14, Folder 15, Folder 16, Folder 17, Folder 18, Folder 19, Folder 20, Folder 21, Folder 22, Folder 23,
Folder 24, Folder 25, Folder 26, Folder 27, Folder 28, Folder 29, Folder 30, Folder 31, Folder 32, Folder 33, Folder 34,
Folder 35, Folder 36, Folder 37, Folder 38, Folder 39
Box 102: Folder 1, Folder 2, Folder 3, Folder 4, Folder 5, Folder 6, Folder 7, Folder 8, Folder 9, Folder 10, Folder 11, Folder 12,