MORTON S. KATZ:
An Inventory of His Papers at the Minnesota Historical Society
Manuscripts Collection
OVERVIEW
| Creator: | Katz, Morton Sidney, 1907-1977. | |
| Title: | Morton S. Katz papers. | |
| Dates: | 1942-1945, 1977-1978 (bulk 1942-1945). | |
| Language: | Materials in English. | |
| Abstract: | Correspondence, diary (1942), photographs, newspaper clippings, and a few miscellaneous items (1942-1945) relating to a U.S. Army officer who served in the Quartermaster Corps from March, 1942 to November, 1945. He spent most of his service in Australia as a subsistence specialist dealing with the acquisition and distribution of perishable foodstuffs in the Pacific theater. | |
| Quantity: | 2.0 cubic feet (5 boxes). | |
| Location: | P1712: See Detailed Description for shelf locations. |
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Morton Sydney Katz was born January 10, 1907 in St. Paul, Minnesota, the son of Reuben and Sarah (Nathan) Katz. He had a sister, Phyllis (Baby), and two brothers, Arthur and Gerald (Jerry). He attended public schools, graduating from Central High School in St. Paul, and later attended the University of Minnesota. He worked at this father's coopany, the Katz Packing Company, and the Armour meat packing plant in South St. Paul before entering the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps in March 1952 with the rank of captain.
His service as a subsistence specialist was spent mainly in Australia, in Darwin, Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney, and the interior. When he returned to the United States in 1945, he was assigned to Headquarters, Perishable Branch Subsistence Division in Chicago. After his discharge he began the Morton Sausage Company in St. Paul. Morton Katz died August 21, 1977 in St. Paul.
SCOPE AND CONTENTS
The collection consists largely of Katz's letters home during his World War II service. He writes frequently (sometimes five and six letters a week) to his brother, Arthur and sister-in-law, Helen Katz. Although he couldn't disclose where he was or, sometimes, what he was doing, he gives a detailed description of his life in Australia.
He describes his living quarters, people (both military and civilian), hospital experiences, work assignments, social life, and Australian friends. He also comments on Army regulations and procedures, conditions in Australia, cities where he has been stationed, and the effect of war news on military personnel. He frequently encloses newspaper clippings in his letters. In addition to his own letters, he encloses letters sent to him from men he has served with and who stayed in contact with him, especially fellow officers Murray Herman and Douglas Weed. He also met and stayed in contact with several nurses who had escaped from Bataan and Corregidor during the fall of the Philippines. Comments on letters received from St. Paul about people and events there are also included in his letters.
Also included is correspondence relating to his will (1977-1978), a few photographs of Katz in uniform, and correspondence with his niece, Sally Katz (1942-1945).
ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
Availability:
The collection is open for research use.
Preferred Citation:
[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Morton S. Katz Papers. Minnesota Historical Society.
See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.
Accession Information:
Accession numbers: 14,126; 14,330; 14,881
Processing Information:
Processed by: Bonnie B. Palmquist, February 1990
Catalog ID number: 001729499
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
| Box | |||||||||||
| P1712 | 1 | Correspondence, February 1942-February 1943. | |||||||||
| Katz was sent first to San Francisco and then kept a diary of the trip to Australia (March 19 - Apri114). In Darwin, he was assigned to the Quartermaster Corps as a subsistence specialist. He describes the general conditions' there, civilians he meets, his living quarters (June 1), officers with whom he works, and his lifestyle. During May he mentions meeting several nurses who had escaped from Bataan and Corregidor and includes newspaper clippings about their escape. He stays in contact with several of them. | |||||||||||
| By August Katz has a new job working on food distribution. On a trip to the interior he gives a description (August 14, October 7) of a cattle station, known as Mambullgo, which was run by Aborigines and which had excellent food and clean accommodations. He comments on his work "marking" beef (for the Army) and tells of life in the outback. He has also been designated special services officer. He remained there until November 29, when he was transferred to headquarters (Melbourne?), where he was involved in drawing up specifications for meat products. | |||||||||||
| People he mentions frequently include Charlie Morsbach, Dr. John Gallogly (who has an aunt who is a doctor at Shriners Hospital in St. Paul), and Captain Jane Clement of the Army Nurse Corps. She remains in contact with him throughout his service. He also gives accounts of people he has met, a boys' camp (January 7), and Murray Herman (January 21). Herman's letters continue throughout the collection. | |||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||
| P1712 | 2 | Correspondence, March-December 1943. | |||||||||
| Jane Clements returns to the front (February 1), and he reaches his first anniversary of service (March 2), and reflects on what he has learned about himself. He comments that the "bush" was known as the Joe Amboy River (March 6). On May 9, he comments that it was the first time he felt like an American instead of a Jew. On June 29 he was promoted to major. A celebration held on the Fourth of July included a football game with teams of military personnel and cheerleaders, which attracted 33,000 people. On July 20 he had a nose operation and describes the hospital and fellow patients. A comment made July 24 recalls it has been eight months since he left the "center of Australia" and he writes a reminiscence about it on August 1. A letter of August 5 includes a clipping from the Ouartermaster Review about officers with whom he has worked. | |||||||||||
| In September he is in Brisbane concerned about getting Thanksgiving turkeys for troops in the island combat zone. During this time he was living with Dr. Gallogly and Bill Slusser. In December he shipped turkeys to the Australians also. He frequently mentions Major Jeff Beeman and Eleanore Fordyce (Bubby) Cohen, an Australian friend who joined the American Red Cross. | |||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||
| P1712 | 3 | Correspondence, January-September 1944. | |||||||||
| In January Katz is in Brisbane and being transferred to Sydney. He travels back to Brisbane (March 5-7) to give a speech to quartermaster personnel about procurement and distribution of perishable supplies. On May 15 he attended a dance to welcome the members of the Women's Army Corps and includes a souvenir program enumerating things the Wacs should not do and the meaning of phrases used in Australia. He meets Hortence McKay (from Minnesota), a base se//ction nurse who is mentioned throughout the rest of the collection. | |||||||||||
| His reaction to the invasion of Europe is recorded on June 7. He enters the hospital (June 13) because of back problems and sees Ann Fellmeth, a nurse. By July 8 he is back at work, only to return to the hospital August 6, and is released on August 16, remaining in Sydney. | |||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||
| P1712 | 4 | Correspondence, October 1944-November 1945. | |||||||||
| December finds him in Sydney, then leaving for Brisbane. His recommendations for the handling of perishables were accepted (December 8), and he is waiting for rotation to the States. | |||||||||||
| He arrives in St. Paul about January 14, 1945. The next letter (February 8) is from Hot Springs, Arkansas, an Army ground and service forces redistribution station. He describes his time there before he is assigned to Camp Lee, Virginia (February 24), then Washington, D.C. (March 24), and finally Chicago (March 29) where he is assigned to headquarters, Perishable Branch Subsistence Division. During this time (April-June) he visits packing plants in Chicago, Detroit, and Louisville. By September he is back in Chicago and waiting for an operation on his back. The next letter (November 6) is from Gardiner General Hospital in Chicago. Apparently he has had the operation and is trying to get a discharge. During this time he mentions seeing Colonel Jane Clement, Major [?] Ann Fellmeth, and Hortense McKay. The last letter is dated November 14 and he writes of his hopes for a discharge. | |||||||||||
| Correspondence relating to Katz will, 1977-1978. | |||||||||||
| Photographs and miscellaneous items, circa 1942-1945. | |||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||
| P1712 | 5 | Correspondence to and from Sally Katz, 1942-1945. | |||||||||
| Katz writes frequently to his niece Sally about the things he has done and families he has visited, and comments on her activities in St. Paul. He encloses postcards and other small items. Sally Katz was a young child when her letters began in 1942, and they continued until 1945. Many are photocopies of V-Mail letters. They contain many drawings and relate her activities in home and school, as well as with her friends. Katz later returned the letters to Sally's mother, though not all were preserved. Katz remarked that "they were a real morale builder." | |||||||||||
CATALOG HEADINGS
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.
- Topics:
- Children's writings, American -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.
- Jews, American -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.
- Military hospitals -- United States
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Participation, Female.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Participation, Jewish.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Food supply -- Australia.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Hospitals -- Australia.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Campaigns -- Philippines.
- Persons:
- Clement, Martha Jane.
- Fellmeth, Ann.
- Gallogly, John.
- Herman, Murray.
- Katz, Sally, 1935-.
- McKay, Hortense.
- Morsbach, Charles.
- Weed, Douglas.
- Organizations:
- United States -- Armed Forces -- Australia -- Women.
- United States. Army -- Commissariat.
- United States. Army -- Military life.
- United States. Army -- Officers -- Correspondence.
- United States. Army -- Procurement.
- Places:
- Australia -- Description and travel.
- Australia -- Social life and customs -- 1901-1950.
- Saint Paul (Minn.)
- Document Types:
- Photographs -- Australia.
- Diaries.
- Occupations:
- Nurses -- Bataan (Philippines : Province).
- Soldiers.
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