Milton M. Rankin Collection

Collection

Identifier: MC 1468

Staff Only
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)

Additional Description

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.