John C. Cox, Jr. World War II Papers

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About the Collection

The John C. Cox Jr. World War II Papers include letters, postcards, photographs, and other documents sent to and from the Dallas native during his time in the United States Army during World War II. The digital collection provides a sample of photographs, correspondence, and other materials. The images document his time spent at Camp Callan in San Diego, California, for training during World War II, as well as his deployment to New Guinea and the Philippines.

John C. Cox, Jr. was born September 20, 1918, in Dallas, Texas. He graduated from SMU with a BS in 1940 and a JD in 1942. During World War II, Cox served in the United States Army in the South Pacific. He enlisted as a private first class and attained the rank of master sergeant by the end of the war. Cox received military training in Camp Wolters, Texas, the 57th training battalion in the Camp Callan anti-aircraft and coastal artillery replacement training center near La Jolla, California, and Fort Ord, California. In April 1944, Cox sailed with his troops to New Guinea and then to the Philippines in October 1944. An amateur photographer, Cox captured the war’s destruction and local life in hundreds of snapshots. He returned to the United States in January 1946. After World War II, Cox practiced law briefly and then worked in the mortgage loan business until retirement. He died in Dallas, Texas on April 14, 1999.

The first part of the John C. Cox Jr. World War II Papers collection includes letters, photographs, and ephemera sent by Cox to his family back home in Dallas while he was stationed at Camp Callan in San Diego, California. These materials provide a unique snapshot of the daily life of Army recruits before their deployment during World War II.

The largest part of the collection comprises correspondence and photographs relating Cox’s deployment to New Guinea and the Philippines island of Leyte. The materials document local and military life in the Pacific war zones. Some of the correspondence is censored to avoid revealing sensitive information, such as location. The photographs are mostly snapshots taken by Cox, but also included are a group of Army-issued postcards documenting the Battle of the Philippines. Of particular interest are Cox’s snapshots illustrating the life of the local population amid the destruction brought on by the war, and camp life of the U.S. troops towards the end of the Pacific war.