Virginia WWI and WWII Commemoration Commission

The Virginia WWI and WWII Commemoration Commission and the Library of Virginia (“LVA”) partnered to create a state-wide online collection of original World War I and World War II manuscripts that still remain in private hands. The Virginia World War I and World War II Commemoration Commission's Project: "Operation: Digitization" (also known as the “Profiles of Honor Scanning Program”) focused on manuscript materials that reflected social, political, military, business, and religious life in Virginia during the periods of the World Wars. Based on the LVA’s experience and past acquisitions, many original manuscripts concerning the World Wars are still held and maintained in private collections. These items range from single letters and diaries to substantial collections of correspondence between soldiers and families at home. These first-hand accounts, some in fragile or deteriorating condition, are carefully guarded treasures that many families are reluctant to relinquish. By scanning these items and providing online access, the Profiles of Honor Project allowed individuals to retain their original items, yet preserve the intellectual and historical content of these valuable documents.

The goals of the Profiles of Honor Scanning Program were:

• To provide a central digital repository for newly discovered original materials

• To seek a broad-based collection geographically and representatively

• To foster cooperation via partnerships with heritage organizations and libraries

To enhance the Commission and the LVA web sites using selected materials gathered during this project, the hightlights of the digital images of items were be stored by the LVA and made available through both the Commission and the LVA web sites. All digital images have been be cataloged using current archival cataloguing standards.

Please click on the following image galleries (listed chronologically, by event) to view some of the highlights from our full collections that are available and archived at the Library of Virginia.
 

Disclaimer:

Please note that as these documents and images were recorded during wartime, some files may be difficult to view as they contain battlefield imagery, death, concentration camps, propaganda, or language. In the interest of preserving history, we have made all of the images visible so that the difficult subjects they cover are not forgotten.

The above documents/images were scanned and collected at the Profiles of Honor Scanning Program at various stops and localities across the state. All photograph information provided by the donor at the time of scanning. These images are part of the Profiles of Honor Collection belonging to the Library of Virginia and the Virginia WWI & WWII Commemoration Commission. Publication or reproduction must have a credit line citing these sources. The original, non-watermarked files are archived in the Library of Virginia, and can be accessed in their archives.

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Please click on the following images to view the full document collections:

The above documents/images were scanned and collected at the Profiles of Honor Scanning Program at various stops and localities across the state. All photograph information provided by the donor at the time of scanning. These images are part of the Profiles of Honor Collection belonging to the Library of Virginia and the Virginia WWI & WWII Commemoration Commission. Publication or reproduction must have a credit line citing these sources. The original, non-watermarked files are archived in the Library of Virginia, and can be accessed in their archives.

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