Naval Papers, 1941-1946, 1955 and not dated

Russell Lake was a close friend of Carleton Elliott Simensen and a fellow UND classmate and ROTC officer. In 1941, Lake enlisted in the U.S. Navy and was immediately assigned to the recruiting station in Fargo where he enlisted. Following this assignment, Lake was transferred to the University of Notre Dame to receive officer training. Lake was commissioned a Lieutenant and assigned to the LST 478. He saw duty in the South Pacific for the remainder of World War II. Following the war, Lake remained in the Naval Reserve and was honorably discharged in 1955. Lake contributed seven folders of documents and several photographs to the Carleton Elliott Simensen Military Heritage Collection. Documents include newspaper clippings relating to Lake's military experiences and to Carleton Elliott Simensen's death and posthumous citation for bravery, one folder of documents that Lake received from the U.S. Navy - consisting chiefly of enlistment papers, discharge papers and orders of assignment or transfer, a roster of Lake and his classmates in Officer Training School at Notre Dame, a poem written by Russell Lake shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, a letter from Mabel Elliott Simensen written shortly after her son's death, "The True Story of the LST 478" by Carolyn Jewett Keefe [the daughter of Lake's fellow officer on the LST 478] and the discharge papers of H.A. Sneesly, uncle of Lake and World War I veteran. (Accession # 93-1900) Several photos have been separated and placed in the Photograph File Cabinets. These include: A photo of William Pratt, Phyllis Pratt, Verona Kumm and Carleton Elliott Simensen, circa 1941 (OGL #1278-57), two photos of Simensen at UND, circa 1936-1940 (OGL #1278-58, 1278-59), one group photo of Alan Severson, Russell Lake, La Veern Abelson, Robert Chatfield and Carleton Elliott Simensen, circa 1940 (OGL #1278-60), two photos of LST's in World War II, circa 1941-1945 (OGL #1278-61, OGL #1278-62), one official U.S. Navy photo of two unidentified sailors taken in World War II, circa 1941-1945 (OGL #1278-63), a portrait of Russell Lake, circa 1941-1945. (OGL #1278-64)