A letter from a World War II soldier sits in a second floor display case of Bracken Library with the following header: "Date: Who cares; Place: Ditto,"
The letter from former Ball State University dean Victor Lawhead is one of several ties that the exhibit shows between the unversity and the war.
The letter is an example of the format used by many young U.S. veterans during the world's greatest armed conflict; filled with such statements as "we left where we were by how we came and have now arrived where we are at this time."
It is one of many pieces of the library's archives and special collections's exhibit "Shared Sacrifice: Scholars, Soldiers and World War II," which will be open until January.
Maren Read, archivist for manuscript collections, said the department wanted to expose students to the various donations that they have received from local sources.
Hannah Cox, supervisor of archives and special collections, said organizers wanted the exhibit to mainly focus on Muncie residents' involvement in the war.
"We wanted to concentrate on more of the local soldiers so students can know about what local people did for the war," she said.
Cox said one of the most interesting parts of the exhibit is the part on Ball State's Army Specialized Training Program.
According to the exhibit, ASTP was an officer-training program at Ball State during the war, similar to hundreds of other programs nation wide.
The program was initiated in 1943, according to the exhibit, but was disbanded a year later. Its members were given the rank of private and put into combat positions.
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