William Boyce and Mary Neal Overcash Thompson papers
Collection
Identifier: MS0554
Scope and Contents
Letters written to and from Lt. W. B. "Tommy" Thompson wtih a small amount of other materials from the WWII era. Correspondence to and from Airman William Boyce Thompson and Mary Neal Overcash and some friends and family. There are some postcards and other souvenir items. Includes a small amount of war-time ration material, and some financial receipts and insurance policies. Some obituaries for Overcash family included.
Dates
- 1942 - 1945
Language of Materials
English
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Some material may be copyrighted or restricted. It is the patron's obligation to determine and satisfy copyright or other case restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the collections.
Biographical / Historical
Lt. William Boyce Thompson was born September 19, 1920 in Hendersonville, N.C. He went to Brevard College and worked at American Hardware & Equipment Co. When America entered the war, he was in the US Army Air Corps, enlisted in 1943. He served in the Hell Hawk Grp. 9th Air Force 365th Fighter Group as a P-47 Thunderbolt pilot. He was killed in action on April 20, 1945 at the young age of 24 over Germany. Thompson had completed around 95 combat missions and shot down at least 2 German aircrafts and damaged another on the same mission. His death came in action after bombing an enemy ammunition depot. His plane was damaged and he was forced to parachute over friendly territoy, however, his parachute failed and he died from the fall. He was buried in an American cemetery. Thompson was awarded the Air medal, at least 14 Oak Leaf clusters, the Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart, Wins, and Silver Star. He was married to Mary Neal Overcash Thompson. After Thompson's death, Mary would later marry Joseph R. Sparling Jr.
Extent
.25 Linear Feet
Overview
Thompson was a decorated pilot in WWII, shot down and buried in Europe. His wife, Mary Neal Overcash, later married again to Joseph R. Sparling Jr. This small collection includes correspondence, financial papers, biographical material about Thompson, rationing supplies, and papers about the Overcash family.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged into a single folder title series.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Tony L. Crumbley, 2016-11-15
Processing Information
The collection was processed by Julie Henry in 2017.
- Title
- William Boyce and Mary Neal Overcash Thompson papers
- Status
- Completeexceptcataloging
- Author
- J. Henry, inventory
- Date
- 2017
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the Manuscript Collections, J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections and University Archives, UNC Charlotte Repository
Contact:
Atkins Library, UNC Charlotte
9201 University City Blvd
Charlotte 28223 United Stated
spec-coll@uncc.edu
Atkins Library, UNC Charlotte
9201 University City Blvd
Charlotte 28223 United Stated
spec-coll@uncc.edu