Milton M. Rankin Collection
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Select files to request
Scope and Content Note
The collection is comprised of 428 photographs, including many of military scenes and personnel; a 180-page diary dated January 1, 1945 to December 31, 1945, pertaining to combat missions; 113 letters Rankin wrote to his family in Springdale during WWII; school report cards from grades 1-6; and newspaper clippings. The collection also contains a notebook in which Rankin listed bombing missions, including the Nagasaki raid on August 9, 1945, and one artifact, a military issued fork.
For preservation purposes, the scrapbook was disassembled. The order of the scrapbook was maintained.
Dates
- 1944-1945
Creator
- Rankin, Milton M., 1925-1985 (Person)
Language of Materials
Materials are in English.
Access Information
Please call (479) 575-8444 or email specoll@uark.edu at least two weeks in advance of your arrival to ensure availability of the materials.
Use Information
No Use Restrictions Apply.
No Interlibrary Loan.
Standard Federal Copyright Laws Apply (U.S. Title 17).
Biographical Note
Milton M. Rankin was born on December 8, 1925 in Springdale, Arkansas, the son of Clyde E. and Agnes Clingingsmith Rankin. Milton had two brothers, Warren H. Rankin and Paul Rankin, and one sister, Bonnie Rankin. In 1944 Milton graduated from Springdale High School and joined the U.S. Army Air Corps. Between 1944 and 1945 Rankin was stationed at military bases in Sheppard Field, Texas and March Field, California. Rankin served in World War II as a staff sergeant and a gunner on B-29 bombers with the 43rd Bomb Group, 64th Bomb Squadron in the South Pacific. He participated in more than 24 bombing missions from March to August 1945 over China, the Philippines, and Japan, including the atomic bomb attack on Nagasaki. After the war Rankin attended Coyne Electrical School in Chicago, graduated in 1948 and later became a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Rankin died January 23, 1985, and is buried at Bluff Cemetery in North Springdale.
Extent
1 Linear Feet (1 box)
Arrangement of the Papers
The collection is divided into three groups. The first consists of correspondence, a diary, and other personal materials. The second group consists of the scrapbook, arranged by page number. The third group includes photograph negatives and an artifact.
Acquisition Information
The Milton M. Rankin Collection was purchased by Special Collections, University of Arkansas Libraries, on March 6, 2000 from Charles Apfelbaum of Watchung, New Jersey.
Processing Information
Processed by Jim Kelton; completed January 2007.
- Title
- Milton M. Rankin Collection
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Jim Kelton
- Date
- 2007
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid is written in English.
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections Department Repository
University of Arkansas Libraries
365 N. McIlroy Avenue
Fayetteville AR 72701 United States
(479) 575-8444
specoll@uark.edu