Inventory of the Renee Ream Collection, 1941-2010

Processed by Rita Morin.

Hoover Institution Archives

Stanford University

Stanford, California 94305-6010

Phone: (650) 723-3563

Fax: (650) 725-3445

Email: archives@hoover.stanford.edu

Inventory of the Renee Ream Collection

Hoover Institution Archives

Stanford University

Stanford, California

Processed by:: Rita Morin
Date Completed:: 2011
Encoded by:: Machine-readable finding aid derived from Microsoft Word and MARC record by Rita Morin.

Collection Summary

Title: Renee Ream Collection

Dates: 1941-2010

Collection Number: 2001C108

Collector: Ream, Renee, 1934-

Collection Size: 2 manuscript boxes (0.8 linear feet)

Repository: Hoover Institution Archives

Stanford, California 94305-6010

Abstract: Materials in this collection were collected by members of the John and Renee Ream family. The collection is comprised of diaries, memoirs, DVDs and interview transcripts of American civilians interned by the Japanese during their occupation of the Philippines in World War II.

Physical Location: Hoover Institution Archives

Languages: English

Administrative Information

Access

Collection is open for research.

The Hoover Institution Archives only allows access to copies of audiovisual items. To listen to sound recordings or to view videos or films during your visit, please contact the Archives at least two working days before your arrival. We will then advise you of the accessibility of the material you wish to see or hear. Please note that not all audiovisual material is immediately accessible.

Publication Rights

For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Archives.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Renee Ream Collection, [Box number], Hoover Institution Archives.

Acquisition Information

Acquired by the Hoover Institution Archives in 2001 and 2010.

Accruals

Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. To determine if this has occurred, find the collection in Stanford University's online catalog Socrates at http://library.stanford.edu/webcat . Materials have been added to the collection if the number of boxes listed in Socrates is larger than the number of boxes listed in this finding aid.

Related Materials

Francis Willard Brush papers, Hoover Institution Archives

Ann Miller Depew papers, Hoover Institution Archives

James J. Halsema papers, Hoover Institution Archives

George C. Mora papers, Hoover Institution Archives

Katherine Ream Sobeck papers, Hoover Institution Archives

Biographical Note

John Ream's immediate family was living in Baguio, Philippines, at the time the Japanese invaded the islands during World War II. Members of John Ream's family were civilian internees throughout the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, at first at Camp John Hay and Camp Holmes in Baguio City, and subsequently at the Bilibid Prison in Manila. At the time of internment, John Ream was seven years old. Renee Sneskin Ream was born, 8 December 1934, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She met John Ream after the war and they were married 7 September 1957, in San Jose, California.

Scope and Content of Collection

The Renee Ream collection is comprised of diaries, memoirs, videorecordings and interview transcripts of American civilians interned by the Japanese during their occupation of the Philippines in World War II. The materials were collected by various members of the Ream family.

The collection originated with We Lived Behind Barbed Wire: Four Oral History Interviews by Renee Ream. Mrs. Ream, interested in the history of her husband's family, interviewed her husband and sisters-in-law about their experiences as civilian internees in the Japanese-occupied Philippines during World War II. The transcripts of these interviews were originally donated to the Hoover Institution Archives in 2001.

Over time the family came into the possession of additional unpublished copies of internee diaries, memoirs and personal stories documenting the experiences of American internees in Japanese-occupied Philippines, specifically at the Baguio and Bilibid internment camps. In August of 2010 the Ream family donated these additional unpublished materials to the Hoover Archives.

Among the latter materials are videorecordings of a reunion of surviving former internees of the camps at Baguio City and at Bilibid Prison. This reunion took place in Fremont, California, in 2010, and the footage consists of a moderated, day-long discussion between former internees about their experiences. Materials arranged by document type.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

World War, 1939-1945--Prisoners and prisons.

World War, 1939-1945--Philippines.

Philippines--History--Japanese occupation, 1942-1945.

Prisoners.

Container List

Diary and memoir transcriptions, 1941-2004 (bulk 1941-1945)

Box/Folder: 1 : 1

Betty Halsema Foley memoir, circa 1945

Box/Folder: 1 : 2

James J. Halsema diary, 1941-1945

Box/Folder: 1 : 3

Ethel Thomas Herold diary, 7 December 1941-9 May 1945

Box/Folder: 1 : 4

The Wall to Freedom by Herbert E. "Gene" Hungerford, 1997.

Scope and Content Note

Contains unpublished memoir, copies of letters home, 1943-1945,and photocopies of Japanese prisoner of war identity cards, Western Union telegram, newspaper articles, and a letter from Gene to President Clinton.

Box/Folder: 1 : 5

Donald E. Mansell diary, January 1944-February 1945

Box/Folder: 1 : 6

Margaret Helen McLeod Morris journal , February 1942-November 1942.

Scope and Content Note

Includes Garry G. Morris journal, February 1984-May 1985 documenting the journey to his birthplace Balbalasang, Kalinga, Mt. Province, Philippines.

Box/Folder: 2 : 1

Our Concentrated Life, An Account of Life in Japanese Internment Camps by W.H. Patton, 1945

Box/Folder: 2 : 2

Three Years in the Fish's Belly by Joseph M. Smith, 2004

Box/Folder: 2 : 3

The Diary of Rokuro Tomibe, The Story of Mayor E.J. Halsema, The Ohdaira Story: The Quartermaster for Internment Camps in the Philippines, 1979

Interviews, 1989, 2002

Box/Folder: 2 : 4

John Ream, 2 February 2002

Box/Folder: 2 : 5

We Lived Behind Barbed Wire: Four Oral History Interviews, 1989

Scope and Content Note

Transcripts of interviews with members of the Ream family: John H. Ream, Sarah Ream Connelly, Katherine Ream Sobeck, and Nora Ream Kuttner. Includes photocopies of family photographs.

Box/Folder: 2 : 6

Herb Swick, 8 Aug. 1989

Scope and Content Note

Includes copies of letters from Herb Swick to John Ream, from William Portrude to Mrs. Swick (mother), from Charles Tanner to Miss. Swick (sister), an open letter from Herb documenting his experiences during the Japanese invasion, a short biography of Herb Swick, and photocopies of photographs along with newspaper articles

Miscellaneous documents, 1945, 1994

Box/Folder: 2 : 7

Research papers by Romilda Wilder, 1994

Box/Folder: 2 : 8

Luzon campaign military journal copy, HQ 185 Infantry Regiment, 9 January 1945-4 March 1945.

Scope and Content Note

Declassified per executive order 12356, section 3.3, NND735017, 16 December 1994.

Videorecordings, 2010

Box/Folder: 2 : 9

Baguio/Bilibid 1941-1945, 65th Anniversary POW Reunion, 2 DVDs, Apr. 2010

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