Bill Shemorry

Bill Shemorry of Williston, North Dakota served as a photographer in the United States Army Signal Corps during World War II. He was assigned to cover the Chinese Theatre of Operations in mainland China. Shemorry donated six folders of materials to the Carleton Elliott Simensen Military Heritage Collection. The first folder contains "The Adventures of Private Bill, 1943-1946." This is a compilation of photocopied clippings from Shemorry's column, "The Adventures of Private Bill," which appeared in the Williams County Farmers Press from 1943-1946. In this column, Shemorry detailed his wartime exploits as a photographer for local North Dakota readers. (Accession #94-1995) The second and third folders contain "The Way It Was 50 Years or So Ago, During World War II." This is a compilation of articles written by Shemorry for the Williston Herald, in 1994 and 1995. In the articles, Shemorry reflects on World War II and the experiences of those who fought in it. Articles often focus specifically on area veterans, and Shemorry relied heavily on oral histories for his material. The fourth folder contains Shemorry's book, "D-Day ... The Way It Was." The book is divided into three sections. The first is entitled "D-Day, 1944 ... The Story of `Overlord,' The Attack on Nazi Europe." In this section, Shemorry provides some background information on the allied invasion of the Normandy and describes the planning process for Operation Overlord. Segment Two is entitled "The Assault on Normandy." Here, Shemorry gives an account of the invasion itself. Segment Three is entitled "D-Day ... The Way It Was: First Person Vignettes by and of the Men, and a Few Women, Who Were There." In this section, Shemorry reprints accounts from the Service Men's Herald, an auxiliary publication of the Williston Herald from 1943-1945. The Service Men's Herald printed letters, photos and first person accounts from G.I.'s., as well as press releases from the Office of War Information. The fifth folder contains Shemorry's booklet, "As World War II Ended, G.I.s in Liuchow, China Prepared for a Skirmish." In this booklet, Shemorry recounts the experiences of himself and two other G.I.'s in the 164th Signal Corps Company, who were stationed in Liuchow, China in August, 1945. The final folder contains two miscellaneous newspaper clippings. One is an obituary of Martin S. Hovde, a fellow Williston World War II veteran. The second is an article on Ruth Guttromson, another Williston resident, who served as a semper paratus, or SPAR, with the U.S. Coast Guard for 2 1/4 years in World War II (Acc. #94-1995). Several oversize materials were separated and stored in OGL #1278 Oversize Folder # 8. These materials include one 1945 front page from the India-Burma Theater Roundup, a newspaper for American troops in the India-Burma Theater, a reproduction of the front page of the Williston Herald dated August 14, 1945, and a compilation of contemporary newspaper clippings detailing the World War II experiences of the 8th Army, 10th Mountain Division, 8th Infantry Regiment, the regiment in which Martin S. Hovde of Williston, N.D. served.