Biographical Note: Paul C. "Shorty" Rose was born August 27, 1908 in Keota, Oklahoma. He attended schools in Stigler, Okmulgee, Bartlesville and the Oklahoma Military Academy at Claremore. He graduated from Ponca City High School in 1927 and attended Ponca City Business College and Wichita Business College. Rose returned to Ponca City in 1929 and began working for Empire Oil and Refinery, a firm later purchased by Citi Service. Rose worked in the energy company's administrative offices, becoming head of the payroll department in 1952. He retired in 1970.

In 1931 Rose married Velva May Hickman. The couple had two daughters. During the 1940s Rose served on the Ponca City School Board, and was active in numerous clubs and civic organizations. Rose died in Ponca City on December 19, 1990.

Scope and Content: A scrapbook consisting of 235+ letters from 75 military personnel and their family members, written during and immediately after the Second World War, 1943-1946. A majority of the servicemen documented in the scrapbook were from north central Oklahoma. Forty-three of the letters were written by Rose's half brother, Elmer B. Cole, while serving in the 103rd Infantry, U.S. Seventh Army, in 1944-early 1945; later while attending officer training school in Fontainebleau, France, in mid-1945; and while serving as assistant camp commander at a German prisoner of war camp located near Viehofen, Austria, in late 1945-1946.

The scrapbook also contains a 23 page typescript of a diary kept by sergeant Alonzo L. Palmer while interned at Cabanatuan (Philippines) and Niigata-shi (Japan) prison camps, 1943-1945.

A large format business ledger made into a scrapbook, the volume contains approximately 400 photographic prints supplied by correspondents, including images made by George A. Taylor, a U.S. Navy Seabee serving in the Caroline Islands. Also contains assorted military unit newsletters, magazines and newspaper articles related to the war. Of special note is a military history of the 2,600 mile India-Burma-China pipeline, constructed to deliver fuel to the Pacific Theater. The scrapbook contains a small collection of U.S. military insignia, 3 German armbands, and a small Japanese flag.

Restrictions: The condition of the scrapbook precludes frequent handling. The Archives reserves the right to to offer researchers a full color digital copy for study. The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of libel, privacy, and copyright which may be involved in the use of these records. Consult an archivist for further information.

Provenance: In the mid 1990s Karen Bertrand purchased the scrapbook in metropolitan Milwaukee as a gift for her husband Richard. No other information about the provenance of the scrapbook is available. In late 2010 the Bertrands donated the scrapbook to Marquette University. Archivists prepared a digital facsimile of the contents, contributing a copy to the Ponca City Public Library.