Queens College World War II Veterans History Project

The Queens College WWII Veterans Project Libguide compiles and makes public the currently known names and service records of the roughly 1,900 Queens College students and staff who served in some capacity during the Second World War. These records are listed in the guide's "Master List A-G," "Master List H-P," and "Master List Q-Z" tabs. All entries are listed alphabetically by last name. Additionally, researchers may search for records by branch of service on the guide's "Branch of Service" tab and by class year on the guide's "Class of" tab. Finally, definitions of common WWII-era terms and programs can be found on the guide's "Terminology" tab. The Queens College WWII Veterans Project Libguide is an extension of the Queens College WWII Veterans History Project.

First conceived in 2005, the Queens College WWII Veterans History Project owes its existence to the drive, dedication, and patronage of Queens College alumnus and Second World War veteran Arnold Franco. Franco, who graduated from the college in 1943 with a degree in history, served as a corporal with the United States Army's 3rd Radio Squadron in France and Central Europe. As a sub-unit of the Army's Intelligence Service, the 3rd Radio Squadron was employed as a code-breaking outfit, and is credited with deciphering the German communiques that signaled the beginning of the Battle of the Bulge in late 1944. Following his honorable discharge from the Army in December 1945, Franco returned to New York, where he went on to enjoy a successful, multi-decade career in business.

Though his professional life took him beyond Queens' borders, Franco maintained close ties with his alma mater. Franco's memoir, Code to Victory: Coming of Age in WWII, which chronicles both Franco's last year at Queens College and his wartime experience, appeared in print in 1998. Ever an enthusiastic advocate for historical inquiry, Franco returned to the Queens College History Department in early 2000 to establish a fund dedicated to recognizing excellence in student scholarship—an endowment which continues to support student research initiatives to this day. In 2006, Franco approached then Chair of the History Department, Frank Warren, with a proposal to erect a memorial to the fifty-eight Queens College students who gave their lives in the Second World War. That initial overture provided the catalyst for a novel investigation into the college's war record. While plans for the memorial were being developed, students of the History Club, working in close conjunction with the club's faculty advisor, Professor Joel Allen, uncovered the identities of nearly 1250 previously unrecognized Queens College WWII veterans. Together with those who made the ultimate sacrifice, their service was officially commemorated on November 10, 2006, when the Queens College Veterans Memorial was publicly dedicated. The memorial can be found residing proudly beneath the flagpole at the quad's east end.

The fruits of that first round of research also provided the basis for the Queens College WWII Veterans History Project and its companion website. In addition to providing biographical information and period photographs, the site showcases the transcripts of veteran oral histories conducted by Queens College's resident military historian, Professor Bobby A. Wintermute, and contains a veterans survey through which Queens College veterans and their families can contribute to the project.

Thanks to the continued generosity of the Franco family, a second round of research was initiated in 2016 under the direction of Professor Kara M. Schlichting, who collaborated with Head of Special Collections and Archives Annie Tummino and Professor Johnathan Thayer to initiate a public-facing platform for the data collected. Student researchers Eleni Stallatos, Sara Dorfman, Joseph Jacobs, Ruby Benitez, Louis DelValle, and Chandni Tariq combed through hundreds of registrar records to add to the honor roll of Queens College servicemen and women. Expanding the definition of 'war service' to include civilian as well as military contributions to the war effort, their enquires revealed not only new names, but new detail regarding the war's impact on both Queens College and on the broader Queens community. "Being able to go through each individual record in the Registrar," Eleni Stellatos observed, "and to see the classes that these students took, the positions they served in during the war, and even their photos brought to life the events that took place long ago." Uncovering this information, however, was no simple task. "My time spent working for the Queens College History Department gave me a glimpse into the process of historical documentation," reflected Joseph Jacobs, "It can be as easy as recording a name into an excel sheet or it can take ten minutes staring at one word trying to make a decision. Terms that can be in common use within one decade can be meaningless seventy years later. You may even be stumped because an office worker was in a rush or had their own recording methods." Despite these ambiguities and limitations, Jacobs and his fellow student researchers added nearly 700 names to the extant veterans list.

Once the second round of research was complete, MLIS/MA History candidate Scott Lipkowitz was selected from a competitive pool of graduate students to compile all of the research and present it in this guide. While detailed, the guide, and the Queens College WWII Veterans Project it is a part of, are still works in progress. More research is needed to clarify several hundred incomplete or uncertain records, and further assistance from alumni and their families is needed to fill in the current gaps in the historical record. It is hoped that as this information becomes available, both the guide and the WWII Veterans Project will continue to grow.