LOUIS JOSEPH FAUCHER:

Louis Joseph Faucher was born on October 23, 1919, in Washington County, Minnesota. He worked as a stonemason before entering the military.

Faucher was living in White Bear Lake, Minnesota when he enlisted in the United States Navy on March 20, 1941. During his stint in the Navy he served in the South Pacific aboard the light cruiser USS Cleveland, serving on two separate tours to the Pacific. He was honorably discharged as a Boatswain's Mate, Second Class at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on November 30, 1946.

Faucher married Eugenia (Jean) Marie Auger on August 2, 1947. The couple had three children: Linda, Patricia, and James. The family surname was legally changed to "Foshay" on May 2, 1961. Louis Foshay died on July 7, 1993, at his home in White Bear Lake, Minnesota.

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Louis Faucher wrote the diary while on active duty in the Navy aboard the USS Cleveland in the South Pacific. It is dated from December 5, 1942 through October 15, 1944, and covers the Cleveland's first voyage to the Pacific Ocean. This typed transcript was made by David Edward Laughlin, April-November 1997, and includes notes and references to the events described in the diary as they appear in the book United States Ship Cleveland. The diary includes some photographs of Faucher and of the ship. It discusses life aboard the ship, maneuvers, gunnery drills, refueling, picking up ammunition and supplies, and military operations in which it was involved including bombardments of Saipan, Guam, and Tinian. There are also some entries describing liberty calls at Sydney, Australia. The transcript is bound as a 37-page hardcover book. The location of the original diary is unknown, but is presumably in the hands of the donor.

United States Ship Cleveland is an 80-page hardcover book produced especially for the men who served on the ship. It was printed in 1946 and is credited to commanding officer Capt. C. J. Maguire, editor Ensign D. D. Robertson, associate editor Ensign E. J. O'Brien, Jr., and others. The book is a record of the Cleveland's voyage to French Morocco, and its first and second tours to the South Pacific. It includes group photographs of the men in the various divisions aboard ship, narratives describing the various departments, and accounts of military actions and life aboard ship. There are photos taken in battle, pictures of the men at leisure, and photos taken at Sydney and Tokyo.

Military discharge papers include a Notice of Separation from U.S. Naval Service, which gives personal and service information about Faucher, an Honorable Discharge certificate, and a few other documents.

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Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Louis Joseph Faucher World War II Materials Diary and Related Materials. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession number: 15,627

Processing Information:

Processed by: David B. Peterson, August 2001

Catalog ID number: 990017372100104294

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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:

Sailors.

World War, 1939-1945 -- Naval operations, American.

World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives.

Places:

Australia.

Guam.

Northern Mariana Islands.

Saipan.

Sydney (N.S.W.).

Tinian (Northern Mariana Islands).

White Bear Lake (Minn.).

Persons:

Foshay, Louis Joseph, 1919-1993.

Laughlin, David Edward, editor.

Organizations:

Cleveland (Light cruiser : CL-55).

United States. Navy. Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas.

Types of Documents:

Diaries.

Titles:

United States Ship Cleveland.

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